Tag Archives: Family

Come on! Murder suspect Brooklyn Traylor’s Facebook timeline boasts photos of him and at least one other inmate while they’re locked up in the Alcorn County Jail. “It’s one thing to have to hear from the DA that it’s going to be 2 or 3 years if it goes to trial, but it’s another thing when you see that her killer is actively on Facebook,” said Aaron Crum, the victim’s brother. Traylor was charged with killing Crum’s sister, Kris Ann Ledlow. Investigators said Taylor shot her in February during an attempted robbery at the convenience store where she worked. Locked up behind bars, Traylor brags on Facebook he’s making more money in jail than on the streets. “The impression I got from the post and the pictures is that he’s just living it up and having a good time,” said Crum. Crum was upset Traylor could even access Facebook and a cell phone. He said the family’s complaints to the DA and the jail have gone unanswered. WREG sat down with Alcorn County Sheriff Ben Caldwell to find out how this is happening. He denied his inmates are having one big party in jail. “I can assure you we don’t allow them to have parties in our jail, and again I understand the families concern. It’s my concern as well,” said Caldwell. The sheriff said there’s no way to prove Traylor is posting from jail. He said inmates sometimes give passwords to friends on the outside to post on their behalf, but he told WREG Traylor did have access to a cell phone at one point. Sheriff Caldwell said, “When that took place, he was placed in segregation. His visitation was taken away from him and some of his other privileges such as commissary access to television.” WREG exposed a history of problems at the Alcorn County correctional facilities three years ago. Last year the state of Mississippi removed bus loads of prisoners housed there because some inmates had their own keys to the jail while others could access drugs and cell phones. When Caldwell took over, he promised changes. The sheriff said keeping contraband out of the jail is one of his big challenges. Since March, he’s arrested two of his own jailers. He said he’s conducting more shakedowns and added more cameras inside and outside the jail. Caldwell showed WREG a picture of the evidence seized from a car caught circling a back fence near the rec yard at night. It’s an indication of what his officers are up against. The photo showed a dozen cellphones and chargers, ear buds, bags of what looks like marijuana, rolling papers, cigars, handheld video games, iPods and plastic bottles filled with liquor. Caldwell believed the suspects wanted to throw the items over a fence for some inmates to retrieve later. “They have nothing to do but sit back in our jail and think of ways to get things into our facility. We’re constantly fighting to keep that from happening,” the sheriff said. Caldwell said smuggling contraband into jails and prisons is a problem nationwide. He’s promised to stop it whenever possible because he knows the implications. “It just looks like one big joke to him. He’s talking about going from like pistol whipping to money making,” said the brother of the murder victim. The Crums said it hurts to see the teen arrested for killing this sister, daughter and mother of two girls, bragging on social media from jail while they grieve their tragic loss. “It’s a slap in our face. Kris isn’t here. She can’t defend herself anymore, so somebody has to and that’s why I’m here,” said Crum. Continue reading →