Woman caught smuggling contraband in Bible to inmate

Credit: Lincoln County Sheriff's Office

A Gaston County woman has been charged with trying to smuggle contraband to an inmate in the Harven A. Crouse Detention Center.

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said a Bible was brought to the Detention Center for inmate Brandon Jackson Kirby, 34, of Lowell, NC in the name of another inmate. 

Detention officers searched and examined the Bible for tobacco and illegal drugs.

An officer soon discovered an area that looked suspicious and found tobacco products packed in individual coffee packets. The officer also found the drug Suboxone, a Schedule III drug, in the Bible.

The sheriff's office 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, of Lowell.

She cooperated in the investigation and was arrested Wednesday, February 24 on one felony count of Providing Drugs to an Inmate and one misdemeanor count of Providing a Tobacco Product to an Inmate.

Police said she was placed under a $3,000 secured bond and will have a first appearance in Lincoln County District Court on Thursday, February 25.