Durham jail steps up security after shooting incident
DURHAM (WTVD) -- The Durham County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that security has been stepped up after a shooting incident in an entry area to the jail earlier this month.
Officers can now use a metal detecting wand to search prisoners in addition to a larger metal detector. That machine was not functioning March 21 when officials say a prisoner with a hidden gun managed to fire a shot, grazing a Durham police officer.
According to a report released Wednesday, 44-year-old Danny Lee McMillen had the small semi-automatic pistol hidden in his crotch area under pants and long johns.
The police officer bringing McMillen to the jail realized he was armed once he got him inside the detention center's sally port, which is designated for the Magistrate, off W. Pettigrew Street at S. Roxboro and S. Mangum streets.
The two struggled for the gun, and that's when the officer was slightly wounded. McMillen is charged with misdemeanor secret peeping, assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, carrying a concealed weapon (firearm), possession of a weapon by a prisoner and discharging a firearm within the city limits.
