The Halifax County Sheriff’s Office said a second inmate in less than a week was found with a handgun on him at the county’s detention center.
According to the sheriff’s office, 27-year-old Alito Roberto Estrada was booked Friday into the Halifax County Detention Center after being brought in by an outside agency.
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While detention officers conducted Estrada’s booking search, they found a .32-caliber handgun on him, along with approximately 8 grams of crack cocaine.
A week before Estrada’s booking, deputies booked 35-year-old Joshua Lawrence of Durham after another agency arrested him and charged him with multiple charges, including DWI. for driving under the influence.
While he was searched during his booking, detention officers found a loaded gun on him.
“When arresting people in the field sometimes things are missed and not discovered until the booking process," the sheriff's office said. "However, with this gun incident and the gun incident from last week this should not have happened. These guns were found in places that should have easily been discovered by the original arresting agency in the field."
Both men were charged with multiple crimes:
Alito Estrada’s charges:
- Possession with inter to sell/deliver cocaine
- Felony possession of cocaine
- Possession of a controlled substance within a jail premises
- Possession of a weapon by a prisoner
- Carrying a concealed handgun
Joshua Lawrence’s charges:
- Driving while impaired
- Reckless driving
- Open container violation
- Failure to comply with restrictions
- Misdemeanor child abuse
- Child not being in a rear seat
- Possession of a firearm by a prisoner
- Carrying a concealed gun
- Concealed gun permit violation
Lawrence's first court appearance is on June 27, while Estrada's first court appearance is on July 2.