Inmate hid cell phone in his ... body

RALEIGH -- State correction officials have charged an inmate with trying to sneak a cell phone into Central Prison by hiding it in his rectum, court records show.

Eric Chambers, 25, of Raleigh, was convicted in 2008 of being a habitual felon and sentenced to 10 years in prison, state records show. Described in court affidavits as a "validated Gangster Killer Blood," Chambers has managed to rack up about 16 prison infractions during the past two years. The infractions - four in this month alone - include involvement with a gang, unauthorized use of a phone, a weapon charge and extortion, state records show.

It was a short investigation. Chambers immediately set off the metal detectors at Central Prison. In response, he handed over a flattened piece of metal from his mouth.

But when the metal detectors chimed a second time, he was more thoroughly searched and found to have a red and silver Samsung "flip-style" cell phone hidden inside his rectum.

Investigators reviewed the phone records and determined that Chambers had been involved in an "ongoing drug conspiracy, both inside and outside" the prison to sell and possess illegal drugs.

Chambers also is the man who Sherita McNeil told a jury is the father of her deceased 19-month-old son, DeVarion Gross. McNeil, 25, was convicted last month of the first-degree murder of DeVarion.

She told the jury in her trial that she did not call 911 when her son was critically injured, because she was afraid of what Chambers, who had many contacts outside prison, might do.