By John Hinton
Winston-Salem Journal, N.C.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A Winston-Salem man was sentenced to prison Friday for conspiring with three other people to steal the identities of 18 inmates at the Forsyth County Jail.
Christopher Neal McCray, 40, pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of three phones as a jail inmate and illegally accessing a government computer in the jail as part of a conspiracy.
McCray also pleaded guilty of one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, two counts of possession with intent to sell and deliver a controlled substance, two counts of possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana.
Judge Penn Broyhill of Forsyth Superior Court sentenced McCray to serve concurrent sentences of 18 months to 31 months in prison.
McCrary was being held in jail on drug offenses and the weapon’s charge when jail officials found a phone in October 2023 inside the jail, Brian Taylor, an assistant district attorney, told Broyhill.
Investigators found 2,000 pages of evidence of a conspiracy on the phone, Taylor said.
Laura Jean Davis and Alfred Alonzo Scott Jr, both former detention officers, as well as Donetta Denise Jones, a former Aramark employee, provided a phone to McCray, Taylor said.
The foursome also accessed computers at the jail to obtain dates of birth and Social Security numbers of other inmates to commit identity theft, Taylor said.
The information was used to apply for lines of credit to raise bond money, Taylor said.
“They were not successful in opening a line of credit,” Taylor told the judge.
On May 8 , Davis, 45, was convicted of giving a device to an inmate and conspiracy to commit identity theft, according to state corrections records. A judge placed Davis on probation for 18 months.
On May 8 , Scott, 30, was convicted of conspiracy to commit identity theft and illegally accessing a government computer, the records show. A judge placed Scott on probation for 18 months.
On June 26 , Jones, 39, a former Aramark employee, was convicted of providing contraband to prisoners and conspiracy to commit identity theft, the records show. A judge placed Jones on probation for one year.
Regarding McCray’s drug offenses, a Winston-Salem police officer saw McCray and a woman on Oct. 11, 2023 , in a vehicle in parking lot of a pawn shop on University Parkway, said Matt Breeding, another assistant district attorney.
The officer smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, Breeding said.
Investigators then executed a search warrant, and they found digital scales, marijuana, methamphetamines and oxycodone and assault rifle at that scene, Breeding said.
McCray also faces federal probation violations in Washington, D.C., which could land McCray in federal prison in seven years, Breeding said.
Derek Gray, McGray’s attorney, told Broyhill that his client has five children, and he wants to spend as much time with them as possible.
McGray accepted the plea arrangement because he wants to dispose of the criminal charges against him, Gray said.
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