Baton Rouge inmates housed in a north Louisiana parish prison have been cut off from the rest of the jail population as officials combat the smuggling of contraband like marijuana and tobacco, which they believe prisoners are trading with one another at the Baton Rouge district courthouse.
East Baton Rouge Parish often sends inmates to other facilities because there isn’t enough space locally. About 250 Baton Rouge inmates are currently housed in East Carroll Parish River Bend Detention Center, records show. When their cases come up for court hearings, they are transported some 200 miles to the 19th Judicial District Courthouse in Baton Rouge.
Last month, deputies found contraband on at least two inmates housed in East Carroll Parish while they were in the 19th JDC Courthouse. East Baton Rouge Parish Prison administrators said inmates are separated when they are in holding cells to minimize interactions, but in courtrooms, people being housed in different parishes may be seated next to each other…