A correctional officer at South Mississippi Correctional Institution is the latest person to experience the meaning of Operation Zero Tolerance at the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Katrina Denise Turner, 38, was arrested Wednesday after a leafy substance believed to be spice was found in an envelope in her car at the prison in Leakesville. The discovery was made during a K-9 search of employees in Area 1.
“This arrest should serve as notice once again to staff that, just like inmates and visitors, they are subject to be searched,” Commissioner Pelicia E. Hall said. “This individual came to work obviously forgetting that fact, and I have zero tolerance for that.”
Turner, who is from Natchez, was transported to the Greene County Jail and booked on a charge of possession of a controlled substance. A conviction on the charge carries no less than three years in prison and no more than seven years and a maximum $25,000 fine. The person is not eligible for probation, parole, a suspended sentence, or any other sentence reduction. Turner was hired on Oct. 17th of 2016 and now faces termination.
