South Bend Man Arrested After Second Drone Prison Drop
South Bend man arrested after second incident outside of Westville Correctional Facility while attempting to use a drone to smuggle contraband.
On April 3, 2025, the Westville Police Department, Laporte County Sheriff’s Department, and Westville Correctional Facility received notification through a drone detection system that a drone was in the air around the Westville Correctional Facility.
According to court documents, Indiana State Police, Westville PD, and LCSD responded to the location where the drone had been detected, which was on the southside of the facility inside a local business on US 421 in Laporte County. It was also noted that there have been numerous recent reports and cases of individuals flying drones carrying contraband into the facility, and the business where this drone was detected is closed at this time of night.
According to court documents, multiple agencies entered the business property and a Sheriff’s Deputy deployed his K9 to track for any individuals on the property. Shortly after announcing the presence of officers, as well as that a K9 is present and may bite, an individual was spotted running south of the business along US 421, near the edge of the business property. That individual was given commands to stop, and when he did not do so, the police K9 was given the command to apprehend. Shortly thereafter, the individual stopped and raised his hands, and the suspect was detained.
WCF Warden recognized the suspect, identified as Zamale Davis, from a previous drone trafficking incident from the night of March 2, 2025. According to court documents, Davis advised that he left the drone and items between two vehicles before he ran. Upon a search of the business property, officers found 2 batteries and a bag release device on the ground, as well as a black duffel bag. The bags were the same bags used in the March 2nd incident, and have also been found inside the facility.
According to court documents, the items confiscated and collected into evidence were:
811.4 Grams of Marijuana
453.1 Grams of Tobacco
7 Cellular Phones
4 Chargers
5 Vape Pens containing THC
1364 Rolling Papers
11 lighters
1 drone
8 drone batteries
2 skyhooks to be used as the payload delivery system
electrical tape
1 duffel bag
1 net bag
Zamale Davis is currently lodged in the Laporte County Jail
On April 7, 2025, Zamale Davis was charged with:
Trafficking With An Inmate: F5 Felony (2 counts)
