A coordinated effort involving the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC) and the Atoka County Sheriff's Office led to the disruption of a major contraband delivery and the arrest of three individuals attempting to smuggle illicit items into the Howard McLeod Correctional Center (HMCC) on May 19, 2025.
ODOC Office of Inspector General (OIG) Criminal Interdiction Division (CID) Agents Robertson and Stubblefield received a tip about an impending contraband drop.
Information indicated a silver Ford truck was involved in the area at the time of the drop. Soon after, Atoka County Sheriff's deputies located a silver Ford truck broken down on Highway 3 and CenterPoint Road, occupied by two males and one female. Deputies secured the scene until ODOC agents arrived.
Agents interviewed the vehicle's occupants, identified as the driver, Jason Rogers, 49, along with passengers Corey Henson, 20, and Heaven Benner, 24. It was revealed that Rogers had been in communication with inmates inside HMCC to organize the contraband drop. Henson and Benner admitted that Henson exited the truck at HMCC and threw a black backpack over the prison's barbed wire fence.
They also stated that Rogers intended to pay Henson between $400 and $500 for the delivery. Two cell phones were seized at the scene, and all three individuals were arrested and transported to the Atoka County Jail.
Correctional staff at HMCC later recovered multiple items of contraband from the prison grounds. These items included a green leafy substance, a brown leafy substance, marijuana extract, rolling papers, and lighters. A more significant discovery was made after Correctional Officer John Pugh found a cell phone in inmate Walter Ewing's cell. The unlocked phone contained text messages discussing the contraband drop, including a Google Maps link with a dropped pin and detailed instructions for a specific drop location near the farm office.
This information led Sergeant John Pugh and Correctional Officer Trace Malakowsky to recover an additional cache of contraband hidden in the wheel well of an old white Chevy pickup.
This recovery included approximately 4,535 grams of tobacco, 7 grams of marijuana extract, 94 grams of marijuana, rolling papers, 4 grams of marijuana extract vapes, and 38 lighters. Further messages indicated Rogers' truck had broken down some miles away, matching the vehicle later detained by the Atoka County Sheriff's Department.
Agents interviewed inmate Walter Ewing, who admitted to setting up the contraband drop with Rogers, stating he was attempting to make money to prevent his house from being sold at auction.
The recovered evidence was transported to the OIG office for processing and submission to the lab. Investigations into the matter are ongoing.
