Baltimore Jail Officials Probe Claims Of Inmate Posting About Case On Facebook
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Behind bars and posting on Facebook? A Baltimore family claims their son's killer is using social media from prison.
Meghan McCorkell has the growing investigation by prison officials.
The family of 18-year-old Kevin Thomas says the man who killed their son has been posting on Facebook from prison, even talking about his case with one of the star witnesses.
The profile picture on Charles Johnson's Facebook page shows him behind bars.
Police say Johnson stole a car and slammed into a vehicle killing three teenagers, including Kevin Thomas, 18.
"How could he be doing that? If our kid's got killed, how can he have a life in jail, have a phone and be on Facebook?" asked Helen Dunnigan, Kevin Thomas' mother.
The Facebook page says the postings are coming from a mobile phone.
At one point-- talking about his case-- Johnson writes, 'Take a dime and the charges disappear." They say he's even had interaction with a witness in his trial.
"So what good is a witness if he's associating with a person that he's supposed to be testifying against?" Nelson Thomas, Kevin Thomas's father, said.
Corrections officials tell WJZ, "While it cannot be ascertained at this point that these allegations are accurate, Baltimore City Division of Corrections staff is putting its full resources into this investigation."
They say if the accusations are true, Johnson will be prosecuted.
Prison officials have cracked down on cell phones behind bars.
Just last year, the Division of Corrections seized more than 1,300 contraband cell phones from the prison system, including 456 from the Baltimore Detention Center.
For the Thomas family, the Facebook page is a painful reminder of their loss.
"We have no more life because he took our son. Where's justice for our son if he has justice to be on Facebook in prison?"
Jail officials say they have not found a cell phone on Johnson. Without the phone, they have no way of telling whether it was actually him posting from prison.
This week, Johnson was found not guilty on three counts of manslaughter. He was convicted on lesser charges.
