Man Arrested Near Hays State Prison After Drone Leads Deputies to Large Contraband Cache

CHATTOOGA COUNTY, Ga. – A 22-year-old Atlanta man was arrested Saturday night after deputies used a thermal drone to track him near Hays State Prison, leading to the discovery of a large amount of prison contraband hidden in the woods.

According to Chattooga County Sheriff Mark Schrader, deputies were alerted at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 13, to a suspicious male carrying a duffle bag entering wooded property off Underwood Drive near the prison. Deputies, Trion Police officers, and Hays State Prison staff quickly responded and established a perimeter around the area.

Sheriff’s Investigator Daniel Sanford, who is also a certified drone pilot, deployed a thermal drone and located the individual moving through the woods. Sanford tracked the suspect and relayed his direction of travel to officers on the ground. Authorities said the suspect appeared to leave the wooded area after being startled by nearby property owners hunting coyotes.

The suspect exited the woods near the Verizon store along Highway 27, where deputies and an off-duty Summerville Police officer took him into custody. Investigators said the man initially provided false identifying information and claimed he had entered the woods only to “use the bathroom.”

After the arrest, deputies, prison officials, and a Gordon County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit searched the wooded area and located a large backpack where the suspect had been seen. Inside were 21 packages containing marijuana and tobacco, more than 20 cell phones, an electric Dremel tool with metal cutting blades, security bits, a handheld driver, and other contraband items. Two additional packages were discovered Sunday morning in the same area by K-9 Kendy and Deputy Nick Robinson.

The suspect was identified as Demarco Letroy Statham Jr., 22, of Atlanta. Prison officials said Statham had been released from another Georgia prison several months earlier.

Statham was charged with felony counts of criminal attempt to provide contraband to an inmate, possession of more than one ounce of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and use of a communication facility to commit a felony. He also faces misdemeanor charges of obstruction of an officer, criminal trespass, loitering and prowling, and possession of drug-related objects.

Sheriff Schrader praised the coordinated response between local law enforcement and prison officials, stating that attempts to introduce contraband into the prison are taken seriously and aggressively investigated.