LINCOLNTON, N.C. – A Gaston County woman has been charged after trying to smuggle contraband inside a Bible to an inmate at the Harven A. Crouse Detention Center.
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Captain Tim Johnson said a Bible was brought to the Detention Center for inmate Brandon Jackson Kirby, 34, in the name of another inmate.
Officer Hawkins discovered an area on the bible that looked suspicious and found tobacco products packed in individual coffee packets. He also found the drug Suboxone, a Schedule III drug, located in the Bible.
Captain Johnson said during the investigation a portion of the Bible had been glued to prevent discovery of the items. The investigation led to the inmate’s mother, Frances Lynn Ashe Melton, 54. She cooperated in the investigation and was arrested on Wednesday.
She was placed under a $3,000 secured bond and will have a first appearance in Lincoln County District Court on Thursday.
