Guard charged with bringing contraband in Mississippi prison

PEARL, Miss. (AP) — A judge set bond Thursday for a prison guard who was arrested on charges of bringing contraband items, including methamphetamine, into Central Mississippi Correctional Facility.

The Mississippi Department of Corrections said in a news release Thursday that its investigators arrested Brenda Denise Hicks on Wednesday at the prison, where she is a correctional officer.

Hicks, 50, of Morton, is charged with extortion, introducing contraband, possession of contraband and trafficking contraband in the form of methamphetamine, the department said.

She made an initial appearance Thursday before Rankin County Judge Kent McDaniel, and court records show he set her bond at $100,000. A court employee told The Associated Press that Hicks was not represented by an attorney.