Man’s arrest for smuggling contraband in footballs sparked Walnut Grove prison riot

Mississippi Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps tells (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mississippi Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps tells (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Mississippi Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps tells (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

WALNUT GROVE, Mississippi (AP) — Mississippi Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps says a prison fight in which nine inmates were stabbed was related to an attempt to smuggle contraband into the Walnut Grove prison. Corrections spokeswoman Grace Fisher says the arrest was that of 26-year-old Marcus Warnsley, of Forest.

Walnut Grove police tell The Clarion-Ledger he’s accused of trying to smuggle knives and other forbidden items in 11 footballs. The arrest was about 25 minutes before the fights.

Warnsley says he had stopped in the prison parking lot because of car problems and was trying to call a mechanic.

Warnsley tells The Associated Press he had seen a big open plastic bag with a tape-wrapped football and a green cigarette pack at the top. But he says he had nothing to do with it.