Tennessee Man Pleads Guilty to Using Drone to Fly Marijuana into Yazoo City Federal Correctional Complex

Jackson, Miss. – A Tennessee man pled guilty to providing marijuana to an inmate of a federal prison.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Mark Anderson, 49, of Tullahoma, Tennessee, flew a drone carrying approximately 195 grams of marijuana over the Federal Correctional Complex in Yazoo City and delivered it by releasing it from the air where an inmate would later retrieve it during the early morning hours of October 2, 2021.

Anderson pled guilty to providing contraband in a prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on  January 7, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Acting Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of Homeland Security Investigations made the announcement.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bert Carraway is prosecuting the case.