(La Porte County, IN) - A man is out on bond after allegedly caught recently using a drone to try and smuggle drugs and other contraband like tobacco into the prison in Westville.
Zamale Davis, 30, of South Bend is charged in LaPorte Superior Court 2 with two counts of Level 5 felony trafficking with an inmate. During his initial court hearing Tuesday, Judge Richard Stalbrink, Jr. granted a request to reduce his bail from $15,000 to $1,500.
According to court records, Davis after the hearing was released from the LaPorte County jail after posting bond.
On April 3, an official with the Indiana Department of Correction and multiple police agencies responded to a drone detective system.at Westville Correctional Facility. The system alerted to the presence of a drone in the air space around the prison.
Authorities soon went inside a nearby building along U.S. 421 with a tracking dog and a man alleged to be Davis was spotted running along the edge of the property, according to court documents.
Despite commands to stop, Davis kept running even after warned about the dog and his potential to bite, authorities said. He stopped, though, when informed the dog had been released to chase him down.
A duffle bag containing the drone, remote control along with multiple bags of contraband were among the items found during a search of the building, according to court documents.
Authorities said the contraband included nearly two pounds of marijuana, about one pound of tobacco and over 1,300 rolling papers. Also allegedly seized were seven cell phones, four chargers, five vape pens and 11 lighters, which are also prohibited from being in the prison.
According to court documents, Davis is also suspected in a drone drug trafficking incident at the prison on March 2. That’s because Davis during his arrest last week was recognized by Warden Jason Smiley from the previous drone related response and the drugs seized were in the same type of bags that somehow found their way into the prison last month.
Under conditions of his bond, Davis will be placed on a GPS monitor allowing for his whereabouts to be tracked around the clock. The next hearing in the case was scheduled for May 23.
