Man tries smuggling illegal items into jail as he turns himself in, Louisiana cops say

A Louisiana man was arrested on new charges when he turned himself in to jail.

He was trying to smuggle a long list of illegal items with him, authorities said.

Steven Elmer Seals, 30, was arrested on March 2, as he turned himself in, Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Seals was ordered by a court to turn himself in at 9 a.m. that day to begin a seven-year sentence. But when he finally arrived at 5:20 p.m., a corrections deputy saw him on video surveillance attempting to conceal contraband items he was bringing with him, the release said.

Corrections deputies conducted multiple searches of the property he brought, his holding cell, and even his unclothed body, police said.

During these searches, they found a long list of items he was trying to smuggle in, including “a metal letter opener, a metal nail file, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, a hypodermic needle, sewing needles and matches,” the release says.

Deputies said the heroin was wrapped in latex and concealed “inside a body cavity,” which he voluntarily removed after he was transported to Riverside Medical Center.

Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal said he suspects Seals intentionally turned himself late that day as he knew the warden and other deputies wouldn’t be present.

“He grossly underestimated the professionalism of our corrections deputies working the night shift,” Seal added.

Police arrested Seals on 16 new felony charges, including possession of heroin, possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, destruction of jail property, multiple counts of introduction of contraband and multiple counts of possession of contraband, police say.

This is Seals 25th’s arrest, police say.

“How sad that a thirty year old man has already achieved the status of career criminal,” Seal said in the release.

This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Man tries smuggling illegal items into jail as he turns himself in, Louisiana cops say."