J6 defendant Stewart Parks surrendered at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Memphis on Tuesday to begin an eight month sentence for his peaceful actions on January 6.
FCI Memphis, where Parks was told he would be in the minimum security camp, regularly generates headlines due to smuggling of controlled substances and weapons into the prison.
As far back as 2010, drug trafficking ringleader Craig Petties received fresh indictments for smuggling weapons into FCI Memphis. Though the weapons were never characterized by law enforcement, it was reported the charges for smuggling weapons into the institution were firearms charges. Petties was later sentenced to nine life sentences.
The pattern of smuggling continued in 2016, when a former federal corrections officer at FCI Memphis and an inmate were found guilty of a contraband smuggling conspiracy at the prison. During the conspiracy, prison guard Keair Kemp would smuggle marijuana into the prison in exchange for payment by inmate Travonte Johnson.
Kemp was sentenced to just over one year behind bars, and Johnson received an additional 30 months on his sentence.
As recently as last November, another guard at FCI Memphis was sentenced to six months of probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine after pleading guilty to smuggling contraband into the prison. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), former prison guard William Smith IV provided tobacco in exchange for payment.
Less than six months before that, an inmate serving a life sentence at FCI Memphis began going viral on social media due to his prison cooking videos. Local media contacted the prison to ascertain how the videos were being uploaded, but reported at the time that it did not receive a response.
Days after the viral cooking videos were reported by Fox 13, the president of the Local 3731 union at FCI Memphis told the outlet there is an “epidemic” of smuggled phones inside the prison.
“We will lock down the institution, go through and find 20 cell phones,” Tony Curtis told the outlet, explaining that “20 more come back in a few days.”
Curtis also told the outlet that guards at FCI Memphis are working 16-hour days for four to five day stretches and are “tired, sleep deprived” as they attempt to ensure the safety of the prison population.
“You’ve got inmates that could be using it for nefarious business outside,” he told Fox 13. “You’ve got gang members that could be high-ranking, using cell phones to run their gang.”
Parks surrendered at FCI Memphis on Tuesday after D.C. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta refused his request to stay his sentence pending his appeal. In his denial, Mehta repeatedly accused Parks of lying in court, though did not cite evidence of Parks’ alleged dishonesty.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
