Six people have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms following an investigation into contraband smuggled into the Fayette County Jail. The defendants each played a role in smuggling illegal drugs and paraphernalia, including methamphetamine, heroin, Suboxone and syringes, to inmates in the facility.
A Fayette County Jail inmate who escaped work release custody in July has been sentenced to serve 20 years in custody. Daniel Wayne Beard, 36, escaped custody with the assistance of a woman who picked him up at Fayette County High School on July 12. Beard was among a group of inmates on work release who cleaned the school over summer break.
An audit completed by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts for fiscal year 2018 concludes that Fayette County Commission funds from other accounts were incorrectly allocated to a fund that was used to help construct the new Fayette County Jail. While the report indicates that funds may have been mishandled and used from other accounts in an inappropriate manner, the auditors did not find that any funds were used for personal gain.
The inmates were moved to the new Fayette County jail on Tuesday, Oct. 29.
Pictured is the site prep work that is occurring next to the courthouse annex building for the new jail.
Luke Porter, county engineer, addressed the Fayette County Commission about road equipment needs during a work session prior to the beginning of the regular meeting of the commission on April 23. Porter said that his department needs several service trucks, dump trucks and also needs to upgrade the graders and Bush-Hogs in the department. He said that most of the equipment has not been upgraded or replaced in several years.
Although some people thought it would never happen, the long-debated jail took a big step toward reality on April 2 as the official ground-breaking for the new jail occurred. The company handling the site prep is Price Civil Services of Tuscaloosa. The site preparation is expected to last approximately three months, followed by the beginning of the construction of the jail.
The Fayette County Commission approved the low bids submitted for the construction of the new Fayette County jail at its March 12 meeting.
