A Tattnall County grand jury indicted a former warden from Smith State Prison on Tuesday.
The grand jury returned a True Bill of Indictment for Brian Adams on May 12, more than three years after he was first arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on a slew of felony charges.
Brian Adams and Smith State Prison
Adams took the helm at Smith State Prison in October 2019 and was in charge when the facility began its’ steep decline. Violence skyrocketed, conditions for inmates deteriorated at an unprecedented rate, and assaults on staff have increased with little to no disciplinary action taken against offenders. More notably, Adams was warden at the time of at least two murders alleged to have been orchestrated from behind the walls of Smith State Prison and he remained at that post even after the Georgia Department of Corrections learned of the murders, some eighteen months prior to his eventual termination. He was only fired on the day he was charged by the GBI.
Agents alleged that Adams provided false statements in an April 13, 2022 interview when he stated he has not been solicited or bribed by a Georgia Department of Corrections inmate in the past 10 years.
They also contended that Adams he participated in a RICO organization, being Yves Saint Laurent Squad run by then-Smith State Prison inmate Nathan Weekes, and he committed the offenses of Bribery and False Statements and Writings in furtherance of the RICO organization. Adams, they said, was bribed when he accepted currency through a pattern of racketeering associated with the RICO enterprise.
He was subsequently charged with Bribery, Criminal Attempt — Georgia RICO Act, False Statements and Writings, Concealment of Facts, and Fraudulent Documents in Matters Within Jurisdiction of State or Political Subdivisions, and Violation of Oath by a Public Officer.
He bonded out of the Tattnall County Jail the following day and the case, which has been handled by the Georgia Attorney General’s Office, has languished in limbo following his release from jail on February 9, 2023.
Grand Jury Indictment
After 39 months, the Georgia Attorney General’s Office finally presented the case before a special call-back grand jury. The grand jury returned a true bill of indictment on six felony counts:
- Violation of RICO
- Making False Statements
- Tampering with Evidence
- Tampering with Evidence
- Violation of Oath by a Public Officer
- Violation of Oath by a Public Officer
Adams Also Facing a Civil Suit
The lawsuit filed in Tattnall County State Court seeks damages from former Warden Brian Adams and former Smith SP Corrections Officer Ireon Moore.
Specifically, the lawsuit contends that the contraband items, including cell phones, narcotics, weapons, designer brand clothing, jewelry, and tobacco should have been noticed by Warden Brian Adams. It also alleges that Ireon Moore was paid to participate in the conspiracy and the financial arrangements were carried out through text message.
“These illegal acts of communicating a plot against a correctional officer for standing up to the blatant criminal conspiracies taking place at Smith State Prison were facilitated by defendants [Adams and Moore], who allowed, tolerated, and assisted in the illegal use of mobile phones to engage in the criminal conspiracy to kill a non-complicit and not corrupt correctional officer.”
Citing previous knowledge of Weekes’ possessing a cell phone at Smith SP, the suit asserts that Adams and Moore participated in the actions, it was foreseeable that Natahn Weekes would “coordinate violent criminal activities from the poorly and negligently supervised confines of Smith State Prison, including but not limited to assault, battery, home invasion, and murder.”
“Had Defendants enforced federal and state law, and GDC’s operating procedures, this conspiracy would not have been carried out and the danger posed to Bobby Kicklighter would have been prevented,” the suit reads.
