By Emma Ritch
The Sun News
A 42-year-old Horry County detention officer was arrested Sunday and charged in connection with possessing or furnishing cigarettes and a substance thought to be marijuana to inmates.
Albert Bellamy of Longs was released on $2,000 bond Monday and was fired from his job at J. Reuben Long Detention Center, according to a news release late Monday.
The investigation is continuing as police search for a second person involved, who is not an inmate or a county employee.
Bellamy was a six-year employee of the detention center.
County spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said problems with corrections officers are rare in Horry County.
“It doesn’t happen often, but it has happened in the past,” said Bourcier, who could not give a tally of officer discipline when the information was released late Monday.
Bellamy was charged with one count of furnishing or possessing contraband in a county prison and one count of misconduct in office.
J. Reuben Long officials received information that contraband was being brought into the facility and provided to inmates by a detention officer, according to the release.
Bellamy had a container of food that held four cigarettes and three ounces of a green, leafy substance thought to be marijuana, the release said.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Horry County Sheriff’s Office and the Horry County Police Department.
It was not immediately clear how police received the information or when police will know if the substance was marijuana.
Myrtle Beach Sun News (http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/)