2 Alabama prison visitors arrested in separate incidents

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Two women have been arrested after agents with the Alabama Department of Corrections reported findings of illegal contraband at Holman and Tutwiler Correctional Facilities.

Officials with ADOC says last Saturday a narcotic-detection canine alerted an officer to a vehicle on the property of Holman Correctional in Atmore. After a search of the vehicle, an investigator found marijuana and a handgun in the vehicle. The driver, Ameila Allen, 43, was arrested while she was at the facility visiting an inmate. Allen, a Moundville native, was charged with second-degree possession of marijuana.

Sunday, a narcotic-detection canine was used to conduct a sniff search of a vehicle near the staff parking at Tutweiler Correctional in Wetumpka. The search revealed multiple strips of suboxone, a drug used to treat opioid addiction, in the vehicle’s center console. 50-year-old Yolanda McNair was identified as the driver of the vehicle and arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance.

“My Department is fully committed to eliminating the presence of illegal contraband throughout our facilities,” said ADOC Commissioner Jeff Dunn. “Addressing this nationwide challenge in our state’s facilities is a crucial step to providing a safe, rehabilitative environment. We will continue to take this commitment seriously through regular contraband raids as well as heightened security to ensure illegal paraphernalia does not enter our facilities from external parties.”

McNair was placed in the Elmore County Jail.