Audio By Carbonatix
Independent Journalism in Miami Needs You
We need to raise $10,000 by August 9 to support the reporting our community depends on. Reader support keeps us independent and is playing a larger role in funding local journalism and shaping what comes next. If you believe independent local journalism matters, make a contribution today.
Deputies at the Okaloosa County Jail in Florida found a loaded .38 revolver hidden inside a jail cell. At first officials weren’t sure how the gun wound up inside the jail, but an investigation has found that two arresting deputies failed to properly search the body of a suspect when he was booked and arrested. You see, he was hiding the loaded gun under his big belly.
18-year-old Stoney Mathis was arrested on September 8th for a traffic stop, according to The Destin Log.
Before placing him into the cell two deputies, Dennis Campbell and Robert Speakman, gave him the old pat down. Speakerman made the arrest, and Campbell was supposed to do a further search before booking him.
Video footage of the arrest showed that neither did a proper search of Mathis’ waistband. The 230 pound, 5’4 Mathis had indeed tucked the gun into his waistband and was hiding it underneath what one of the deputies terms his “big gut.”
Surveillance footage of Mathis once inside the cell showed him taking the gun out from his waistband. He eventually hid it inside a role of toilet paper, and left it behind when he released the next day.
Both deputies are on a three-month disciplinary probation and could face a three-day suspension without pay.
Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes.
