Two corrections officers at Smith State Prison have been arrested.
Tattnall County jail records indicate that two female correctional officers were booked into the Tattnall County jail in the last two weeks.
Both Shaniya Odom and Rosemary Evelyne Johnson, who held the rank of a sergeant, were arrested for allegedly attempting to bring contraband into the prison. The arrests were made by the Georgia Department of Corrections Criminal Investigations Division.
The Georgia Department of Corrections included Odom in their social media post on February 22, but listed her as a ‘former correctional officer’ who was arrested on February 9. According to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, which governs certifications for correctional officers, Odom was terminated by the state agency on February 10, meaning that she was not a former correctional officer at the time of her arrest.
Odom was charged with:
- Crossing State Guard Lines with weapons, intoxicants, drugs without Consent
- Giving or Possession Liquor, Drugs, Weapons, etc Without Consent of the Warden
- Possession of Marijuana (felony amount)
- Violation of Oath by a Public Officer
All four charges are felony offenses. If convicted, Odom faces up to 29 years in prison.
Odom’s POST record show she just began working at Smith State Prison in October 2023.
Rosemary Evelyne Johnson was arrested on February 21 on three charges:
- Trading with Inmates without Consent of Warden
- Use of Communication Facility in Commission of a Felony
- Violation of Oath of Office by Public Officer
All three charges are felony offenses. A magistrate judge set her bond at $6,000, but as of 7:00 p.m. on February 22, she remains in the Tattnall County jail.
The move to arrest the correctional officers is fairly new, particularly at Smith State Prison, as GDC historically made random arrests of corrections officers who broke the law while letting others carry on without charges. Most notably was former Smith State Prison CO Jessica Gerling, who was reportedly part of the Saint Laurent criminal enterprise operating from Smith SP. She was terminated for bringing contraband into the prison and facilitated contraband drops after her firing, but was never charged by GDC. A year and a half later, she was murdered and GBI agents allege it was at the hands of the same ring that she once helped.
Additionally, Brian Adams, the warden at Smith State Prison was also arrested in February 2023 on charges of Bribery, False Statements and Writings, Concealment of Facts, and Fraudulent Documents in Matters Within Jurisdiction of State or Political Subdivisions, Criminal Attempt — Georgia RICO Act, and Violation of Oath by a Public Officer. His arrest was due to an ongoing investigation by the GBI, however, and not by the Georgia Department of Corrections. His case is still pending.
