Woman hides loaded pistol in jail bathroom
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HENDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — A woman brought a loaded 9 mm pistol into the Henderson County Correctional Complex on Sunday, prompting a lockdown. Deputies have charged 23-year-old Chelsea Wood with theft and introduction of contraband to a penal facility. Capt. Tracey Grisham with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office said the gun was discovered by a correctional officer. “At the end of visitation he has to search that whole visitation room,” Grisham said. The gun was found wedged between a garbage bag and trash can in a visitor restroom. Grisham said there’s no indication at this time the pistol was left for an inmate. “She was afraid she was about to get caught,” he said. Deputies said it’s also not likely inmates would have access to the visitor restroom since visitation is done digitally through a phone and video system. Steve Reeves said he’s visited inmates at the jail in the past. “I think they need to beef up the security a little more and make it more safe for all the residents to go up there and visit,” he said. The sheriff’s department has changed protocol for the visitation center since the hidden gun was found. “What you’re wearing is what you bring into visitation — no handbags, no purses, no fanny pack, no Walmart bag, no nothing,” Grisham said. Correctional officers also will be screening visitors with metal detection wands. Wood is being held without bond. Investigators say she is being held in Obion County for her own safety.
