The Alabama Department of Corrections has arrested five of its own correctional officers on charges they used their positions for personal gain.

ADOC on Tuesday afternoon announced the arrests following a three-month probe at Staton Correctional Facility in Elmore. ADOC investigators made the arrests at the prison on May 24 and 26.

Those officers arrested are: Ronald Dickerson, 23, of Montgomery; Jarod McDowell, 29, of Wetumpka; Joshua Alexander, 26, of Hayneville; Leonard Scott, 31, of Montgomery and Patrick Jones, 42, also of Montgomery. All but Jones have resigned.

The ADOC Investigations and Intelligence Division's Corruption and Fraud Task Force launched the investigation after receiving information of a suspected bribery scheme involving officers and inmates, Commissioner Jeff Dunn said in a news release. In return for giving inmates contraband, such as drugs and cellphones, investigators found that the inmates were using the cellphones to create online money accounts illegally in order to purchase items for the officers.

The investigation revealed the officers accepted bribes ranging from home electronics, clothing, and automobile accessories; to a cruise. There are pending charges against the inmates involved as well.

"After months of investigating this case, our corruption and fraud task force uncovered the bribery scheme involving correctional officers who are sworn to protect the public, but instead chose to use their position to illegally further their self-interest," Dunn said in a prepared statement.

Staton Correctional Facility opened in June 1978 and is located off Highway 143 approximately 12 miles west of Wetumpka, AL. The institution was named in honor of Thomas F. Staton, a previous Chairman of the Board of Corrections.



According to the ADOC website, Staton provides emergency medical care and a medical observation unit for Draper, Elmore, and Frank Lee facilities. Additionally, Staton, through the J.F. Ingram Technical College, offers educational and vocational courses such as adult basic education, college classes, literacy programs, auto body and heavy equipment repair, upholstery, welding, horticulture, and barbering. Staton also has a law library, staff psychologist for counseling, and substance abuse treatment programs. Staton is classified as a medium custody correctional facility

ADOC began the process of establishing the corruption and fraud task force in 2016 to uncover and eradicate employee and inmate corruption in Alabama prisons and fully staffed the task force in February 2017.

"Our department has zero tolerance for corruption among our officers and employees and we will do everything within our authority to ensure those who choose to engage in criminal activity are terminated from employment and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Dunn said.

In addition to forming the corruption and fraud task force, ADOC has increased facility inspections and searches and is in the process of installing new body scanners in its facilities for finding and detecting contraband. The department is considering trained canine units as an option for interdicting the contraband cellphones.

To further address the problem at the national level, Dunn and corrections directors from other states met with FCC officials in Washington DC in March to evaluate available technologies that could one day render them ineffective inside prisons.

Dunn said ADOC has made it a top priority to eliminate corruption and find solutions for making contraband cellphones inoperable inside state prisons. In 2016, ADOC seized more than 3,500 illegal cellphones and made over 70 contraband arrests.

In responding to the arrests, Dunn said, "the vast majority of our correctional officers are committed to his and her profession and want to do what's right for the good of the department and for the citizens of our state. Those who do a disservice to the department by failing to uphold the public's trust represent a very small percentage of our total workforce."