A former Independence County jailer is accused of providing drugs and tobacco to inmates in exchange for fast food burgers.
According to the probable cause affidavit, 21-year-old Austin J. Taylor of Sulphur Rock faces two counts of furnishing and delivering prohibited articles into a correctional facility. During the first week of January, officers received information about a jailer providing drugs and tobacco in the Independence County Jail.
Investigators reportedly intercepted phone calls between inmates and their families and friends on the jail’s phone system.
During the calls, inmates would order illegal contraband and ask a family member or friend to contact Taylor and have him bring in the illegal item, such as pills or meth. The person would arrive at the jail with a fast-food bag and say it was Uber Eats.
Taylor would then receive the package and take it inside the jail to deliver to the inmate, where he would then eat the food that was inside the sack.
When investigators questioned Taylor, he reportedly said he had delivered contraband approximately 20 times to inmates and denied any monetary gain and stated he only “did it out of “the kindness of his heart.”
Taylor reportedly described to detectives how he would receive the contraband in a McDonald’s sack, then take it into the bathroom where there were no cameras and hide it in his clothing. He stated he would then do a walk-through of the inmate pod and deliver the contraband, then would go eat the burger. He told investigators he knew what he was doing was wrong.
Taylor was released from the Independence County Detention Center on $10,000 bond. He is awaiting his next court appearance on Tuesday, Jan. 24.
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