Attorneys general from Oklahoma and 28 other states, a U.S. commonwealth and a U.S. territory, seek permission to deploy cell phone jamming systems in prisons. Federal law bans the use of the technology. H.R.2350 and S.1137 aim to disrupt inmates’ ability to orchestrate crimes from behind bars using smuggled cell phones. A bipartisan coalition of 31 attorneys general recently penned a letter to federal legislation in support of the measure.
“The proliferation of illegal cell phones in our prison systems represents a serious public safety threat to Oklahomans,” Attorney General Gentner Drummond said. “These devices are not just communication tools for inmates, but dangerous instruments that enable criminal activities that extend far beyond prison walls and directly impact our communities.”
The coalition’s letter to Congress highlights how inmates exploit contraband phones to:
• direct drug trafficking operations;
• orchestrate violence inside and outside prison walls;
• operate sophisticated fraud schemes preying on vulnerable citizens;
• intimidate witnesses and terrorize victims’ families; and
• plot escape attempts, such as one this year in Oklahoma, that endanger law enforcement and the public.
Because states are prohibited from using cell phone jamming technology, correctional facilities are rendered defenseless against these escalating threats. Carefully designed to avoid disrupting emergency signals such as 911, H.R.2350 and S.1137 would grant states the authority to deploy targeted jamming systems within prisons.
Led by the attorneys general of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and the U.S. Virgin Islands territory, the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, the Northern Mariana Islands commonwealth, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia are part of the coalition.
More than 33,400 contraband cell phones were confiscated in Oklahoma’s state and private prisons in the six-year period 2017-2022, an average of 5,572 per year, Corrections Department records reflect.
Most recently, 711 mobile phones were confiscated as contraband in 2023, and 664 were seized in 2024, Kay Thompson, public relations chief for Oklahoma’s Department of Corrections (DOC), told Southwest Ledger. Prison break plan disrupted An investigation by the DOC’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) resulted in multiple felony charges against two persons accused in a contraband smuggling operation at the Northeast Oklahoma Community Corrections Center at Vinita.
The investigation was initiated after a report from the facility’s warden about a suspected contraband introduction involving inmate Kenneth Michael Dean, 42, a career criminal.
A backpack filled with illegal items such as drugs, tobacco, alcohol, and cell phones, was seized from Dean. During an investigation, an OIG agent determined that Amanda Carter, 42, was helping Dean smuggle contraband into NOCCC.
During her interview with OIG, Carter admitted her role in the scheme, DOC officials said.
On Jan. 6 a probable cause affidavit was submitted to the Craig County District Attorney’s Office, resulting in multiple felony warrants for Carter’s arrest. The OIG and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department arrested Carter at her residence near McLoud.
Carter was charged Feb. 27 in Craig County District Court with five felony crimes: assisting a prisoner in an escape attempt, two counts of bringing contraband (marijuana, alcohol, and a cell phone) into a penal institution, unlawful use of a communication device (a cell phone), and conspiracy.
She was released from custody on $100,000 bond and her next court appearance is set for May 23.
Dean has lengthy criminal record Dean was charged Feb. 27 in Craig County District Court with five felony offenses: possession of a cell phone or electronic device in a penal institution on Dec. 21, 2024; possession of contraband (marijuana) by an inmate; unlawful use of a communication device (cell phone); possession of a cell phone or electronic device in a penal institution on Dec. 26, 2024; and conspiracy.
He was transferred to the Joseph Harp Correctional Center at Lexington and filed a motion March 18 for a “fast and speedy trial or dismissal of the charges.”
Dean has committed at least 20 crimes over a 30year period in four Oklahoma counties –Cleveland, Canadian, Lincoln, and Oklahoma – yet somehow he has spent little time incarcerated, apparently.
Court records indicate his career in crime started in 1995 with larceny from a house, and in the three decades since has included concealing stolen property (2001 and 2011), possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia (2012), second-degree burglary (in 2012, twice in 2014, in 2016 and again in 2022), breaking and entering (2013), passing a bogus check (2014), assault and battery on an Oklahoma County sheriff’s deputy (2016), larceny of an automobile (2022), unauthorized use of a motor vehicle (2022), endangering others while eluding Oklahoma City police and driving while his license was suspended or revoked (2022), misdemeanor larceny of merchandise from a retailer (2023), grand larceny (2023), possession of stolen property (2023), and possession of a f irearm after former conviction of a felony (2023).