Individual Pleads Guilty To Possessing Contraband In A Prison

 MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that David Hurl Lemmon, 48, entered a guilty plea to Possessing Contraband in a Prison, in violation of 18 United States Code Sections 1791 (d)(1)(F), punishable by imprisonment for a period of one year and/or a fine of up to $100,000.00, a term of supervised release of up to one year, and a special assessment in the amount of $25.00.

The Indictment alleged that on or about April 12, 2021, an FBI Task Force Officer (TFO) received a report of a disturbance in the X-Pod at the Okmulgee County Jail.  The X-Pod houses Federal inmates in accordance with a contract between the United States Marshals Service and the Okmulgee County Criminal Justice Authority.  Upon arrival, the TFO was informed the disturbance had been ongoing and had escalated into a riot situation. When additional law enforcement arrived, a team was formed to enter the pod and restore order.  As the officers entered the pod, a group of inmates begin throwing pieces of concrete at the officers.  The riot lasted approximately two and one-half hours before order was restored, and some of the inmates (including Lemmon) used cellular phones during the riot.  A total of nine inmates (including Lemmon) were charged with federal offenses.

The charges arose from an investigation by the United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office, the Okmulgee Police Department, the Okmulgee County Jail, and the Henryetta Police Department.

The Honorable Steven Shreder, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report.