CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A Clarksville man has been charged with bringing drugs into a Nashville jail while he was working there as a correctional officer.
Shaquille Patrice, 26, was hired July 1 by the Nashville-Davidson County Sheriff’s Office and assigned to the Correctional Development Center on Harding Place, according to a DCSO news release.
Working off a tip, DCSO officials searched Patrice when he reported to work Dec. 3. During the search, two packages were recovered inside Patrice’s sock. They included marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy, the release said.
Patrice was immediately placed on leave and his credentials were revoked. DCSO fired Patrice the following day, Dec. 4.
The Metropolitan Police Department’s Specialized Investigations Division was contacted and began their investigation; swearing out affidavits Monday, Dec. 14. He was charged Wednesday with four felony counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver or sell, and he was booked into the Downtown Detention Center.
“Bringing narcotics into one of our correctional facilities is not an issue we take lightly and we will prosecute anyone who does so to the fullest extent,” Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall said in the release. “This criminal behavior puts our staff, inmates, and the entire community at risk and will not be tolerated.”