Former federal prison officer convicted in bribery scheme to smuggle drugs into Atlanta prison

A former correctional officer at U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta has been convicted of taking bribes to help smuggle drugs and other contraband into the facility, federal prosecutors said.

A jury found 51-year-old Patrick Shackelford guilty after a six-day trial. He was taken into custody immediately following the verdict on April 2.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Shackelford worked with inmates to bring drugs, including methamphetamine and marijuana, into the prison between 2018 and 2019.

Prosecutors said the group used a hidden space connected to the visitation area, where visitors passed packages of contraband through a small hole under a restroom sink. Inmates would then retrieve the items and move them throughout the prison.

Authorities said Shackelford helped by allowing inmates access to restricted areas, hiding drugs in a staff office ceiling, and escorting inmates through checkpoints to distribute the contraband.

In exchange, Shackelford received about $5,000 and pain pills, officials said.

Investigators later uncovered one of the largest contraband seizures in the prison's history, including more than a pound of pure methamphetamine, marijuana, cell phones, and other items hidden inside the facility.

"This conduct endangered the safety of the prison," U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said in a statement.

Several inmates involved in the scheme have already pleaded guilty.

Shackelford is scheduled to be sentenced on July 20 and faces a minimum of 10 years in prison.