Six accused of using drones to deliver contraband to prison

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Six people are accused in a federal indictment of conspiring to use a drone to fly contraband such as cell phones and marijuana into the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth.

The indictment was unsealed Wednesday after all the suspects were arrested, according to court records in the U.S. District of Kansas.

Two prisoners, Dale Gaver III and Melvin Edwards, allegedly arranged with four people outside the prison to deliver items requested by other inmates into the prison yard between August 2020 and May 2021, The Wichita Eagle reported.

The items included cell phones, the synthetic drug K-2, marijuana and tobacco products.

Transactions over the money phone application CashApp recorded illegal payments made as part of the smuggling operation, according to the government.

The defendants are Dale Gaver III, 35; Dale Gaver II, 54; Joshua Hamilton, 37; and Rex Hill 33, all originally of Omaha, Nebraska; and Melvin Edwards, 44; and Tamarae Hollman, 36, of Riverside, California.

They have all been charged with conspiracy to provide and possess contraband in prison.

The court documents do not name attorneys for the defendants.