Man carries machete into jail tucked under skin roll, police say

SHELBY COUNTY, TN (WMC) - Memphis police say a man attempted to smuggle a machete under his skin into the Shelby County Detention Facility.

Freddrick Johnson, 30, was in custodial supervision on Dec. 16 awaiting processing for earlier charges when officers made the discovery.

Officers say he had been patted down before being transported to the jail and officers found two folding knives and a taser, along with multiple bags of what appeared to be controlled substances.

Officers repeatedly asked Johnson if he had any other concealed weapons, which he denied.

When they got inside the detention facility, officers located a previously undetected object tucked deep underneath a large roll of skin.

Officers said at first they believed the roll was a continuous piece of flesh; however, they later discovered a semi-erect object protruding on his left side near his groin.

Police asked Johnson if the object was his genitalia, which he confirmed it was. However, officers also discovered another semi-erect object protruding from the opposite direction in the same area.

Officers asked him again if he was carrying contraband, and Johnson did not respond.

When officers told him they planned to strip search him, Johnson pulled out a 24-inch machete wrapped in a pair of gym shorts that had been tucked into and covered by the roll of skin.

Since the machete was not readily accessible, police determined that Johnson did not intend to use it immediately.

Officers said earlier that day, Johnson was taken into custody for trespassing at a Greyhound Bus station because of past incidents. Officials said he was also known to masturbate publicly and cause disruptions.

When he was initially taken into custody, officers found four plastic bags of unknown substances that appeared to be narcotics, as well as an unidentified white ovular pill.

Tests revealed that the substances were 12.6 grams of an unknown powder substance, 3.5 grams of an unknown grass substance, 0.9 grams of an unknown substance, 8 grams of an unknown crystal substance, and 0.7 grams of another unknown crystal substance.

They also found multiple knives, a taser, a Social Security card, and a State of Texas benefit card belonging to a woman named Teresa. Johnson told police he wasn’t sure who Teresa was, but he believed she was “on his Facebook.”

Officers also found a Tennessee Department of Corrections violent offender probation card, Federal Bureau of Corrections phone card, and a business card for a probation officer.

Johnson was processed into the Criminal Justice Center and charged with carrying contraband into a penal institution, in addition to his previous charges of aggravated criminal trespassing and manufacturing an imitation of a controlled substance.