From Greene County District Attorney's Office:
Prison Prosecution
On 4/11/17 four Prison inmates were arraigned upon sealed indictments, each charged with the Felony offense of Promoting Prison Contraband in the First Degree, a Class D Felony. Three of the inmates, Tremaine Woods, Calvin Cross and Jaekwon Tucker were housed at Greene Correctional Facility at the time of the incident. The other inmate, Nathaniel Cox, was housed in Coxsackie Correctional Facility at the time of the incident. Of the four charged, three are charged with illegally possessing cutting type weapons while one was charged with illegal possession of a narcotic drug.
Prison contraband continues to be a problem in the prison system. Recently there has been an increase in the number of visitors who attempt to smuggle illegal drugs into the prisons. Coxsackie and Greene Correctional Facility have begun to use canine units to randomly screen visitors in order to prevent the introduction of drugs into the prisons. Use of the canine has resulted in a number of arrests of visitors over the past year.
Weapons in the prisons also continue to pose a threat to the safety and security of Correction Officers, staff and other inmates. Inmates find ingenuous ways to create weapons from metal and ceramic items used in their shop classes, from razors used for shaving, from cans and other such items that they are initially allowed to have for a specific purpose. Unfortunately some inmates abuse their privilege to possess these items when they turn them into weapons.
Weapons have been used to “Mark” other inmates. Some inmates have been slashed across the cheek so as to cause a noticeable scar. Such a scar is intended to put other inmates on notice that the inmate may have “told a Correction Officer” about improper conduct of another inmate. There is a phrase “Snitches get Stitches”.
Although many of these cases are handled “in house” without formal prosecution, local prison officials agree that it is only when inmates are formally prosecuted & face the risk of an additional state prison sentences that the existence of “make shift” weapons begin to diminish.
Because prosecution of contraband cases increase the safety and security of those who work in the prison systems as well as those who are confined therein, the Greene County District Attorney’s Office will continue to review and actively prosecute prison contraband cases.