Jail drug smuggling alleged
CROWLEY — Daniel Brandon Prince, the man accused in the January 2005 slayings of two women in Branch, used an envelope from his then-attorney to smuggle marijuana, rolling papers, cigarettes and pornography into the Acadia Parish Jail in late October, according to court documents and an interview with his former attorney.
The 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office filed a bill of information against Prince, 34, Tuesday charging him with four counts of contraband in a penal institution.
Prince was indicted Oct. 11, 2007, in the first-degree murders of Angela Matte and Jackie Campbell, both of Branch. He is accused of killing the women inside a mobile home and setting fire to the structure to cover up the slayings.
Prince was arrested by the Sheriff’s Office in 2007 after he allegedly bragged to fellow inmates about the murders, according to crowleypostsignal.com.
His recent arrest stems from an affidavit filed Nov. 21 that states a Crowley police officer contacted the Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office about drugs being smuggled into the jail.
A drug-sniffing dog was brought in and alerted deputies to a package addressed to Daniel Prince, the affidavit says.
Prince was brought into a room and asked to open his mail in front of authorities, the affidavit says.
The envelope, which appeared to have come from Prince’s attorney’s office, contained two computer generated sexually explicit images, four cigarettes, rolling paper and a substance that later tested positive as marijuana, the affidavit says.
Public defender Burleigh G. Doga was Prince’s attorney at the time.
Doga said Wednesday no contraband of any kind came from his office.
“It had nothing to do with me other than he (Prince) is accused of using an envelope I had previously sent him mail in,” Doga said. “I’m not under suspicion.”
While the Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the case, saying it was still under investigation, spokeswoman Maxine Trahan did confirm Doga’s statement.
Trahan said all the mail that comes into the jail is checked by jail staff except for any correspondence from an inmate’s attorney.
Doga said he stepped down as Prince’s attorney soon after the incident.
“I felt it was a conflict of interest for me to represent him,” Doga said.
Public defender Thomas V. Alonzo enrolled as Prince’s attorney Nov. 16, according to court documents.
Alonzo said Prince shared a cell with another inmate who would have had access to the legal envelopes that were addressed to Prince.
In the meantime, Assistant District Attorney Roger Hamilton said he would like to see the murder case against Prince tried as soon as possible.
“The state is prepared and ready to try the case as soon as we can get a court date,” Hamilton said.