COLUMBIA, S.C. — A 46-year-old man has been arrested and charged with providing contraband to an inmate and criminal conspiracy after he used a drone to drop material into the prison yard at Broad River Correctional Institute (BRCI).
Arrest warrants say that on or about April 16, 2024, Charles Dawson used a cell phone to coordinate the drop location, details of what the package included, which inmates were to receive the contraband and how payments would be made to an inmate distributing the contraband inside the facility with multiple inmates using illegal contraband cellphones.
Dawson's vehicle was stopped by Richland County Sheriff's deputies after a drone alert was issued at BRCI. A search of the vehicle uncovered the drone and further analysis of data on the drone showed it did fly over the prison on the incident date. That data was backed up by text messages between Dawson and multiple BRCI inmates, giving probable cause for Dawson's arrest.
