Jailers in Arkansas bought beer with prisoner's money

[TexasStooge]

BENTON, Ark. (AP) — Three jailers are behind bars after sheriffs say they made a beer run with money they stole from a prisoner, then shared a brew with an inmate.

Todd McEuen, 32, John E. Hood, 22, and Christopher Carmen, 21, were arrested on charges of introducing contraband to a jail. McEuen and Hood also face misdemeanor theft charges.

Lt. Jim Andrews said the men took money from a prisoner's locker Tuesday night.

"They then went to a convenience store and purchased alcohol," brought it back to the jail, and drank it, Andrews said.

Chief Deputy Bill Field said the sheriff's office learned of the incident from another jailer.

"What if something had happened? They were throwing a party when they should have been watching" prisoners, said J.R. Walters, a Saline County justice of the peace.

The suspects were held without bail Thursday in jails outside Saline County.

If convicted, they would face a sentence of three to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine on the contraband charge. The theft charge carries up to a year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.

[Pburgh]

They must have been watching too many reruns of Shawshank Redemption.