Two Oklahoma County Detention Center officers arrested

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Two men who were once tasked to watch inmates at the Oklahoma County Jail are now behind bars.

Two former detention officers at the Oklahoma County Jail were arrested Wednesday for bringing contraband into the jail.

Oklahoma County Detention Center CEO Brandi Garner brought this to the jail trusts' attention back in June, explaining ever since she took over last year, they have learned that gang members are trying to infiltrate the ranks of the jail staff.

Kaylyn Crawford and Xzavier Nicholson, both are now former Oklahoma County Detention Center officers, following their arrest for bringing contraband into the jail.

"We have been able to identify that some people are trying to get hired on and they definitely have a gang connection to some of the gangs that are within the Department of Corrections and they are trying to further that criminal enterprise within our walls," Garner said.

The two arrests made Wednesday are part of an on-going investigation. It's not clear at this time if they are involved with any gangs.

In her report two months ago, Garner said the jail receives dozens of applications for open positions.

The challenge lies with filling the staff positions with the right personnel.

"We do have two who are currently in background, four have been hired and 21 of them have been denied based on their criminal history," Garner said.

Garner says the jail has improved it's background checks, so they are able to discover early on if applicants are involved with a gang.

"Our background investigators and all of our staff are doing a really good job in identifying those individuals early on so we can prevent long term issues down the road," Garner said.

A press conference will be scheduled in conjunction with the District Attorney's office in the near future to address the facts in the case.