Chauncey Stovall: Indian River Co. deputy suspended for passing contraband

VERO BEACH, Fla. - An Indian River County jail guard reportedly passed a note to an inmate in May, which is termed a "willful violation of official procedures."

Before he began working as a Corrections Deputy, Chauncey Stovall played football for Vero Beach High, then the Seminoles and the Philadelphia Eagles.

This summer, Stovall came under fire when an internal investigation looked into whether he passed a note to an inmate, Tyrez Brown.

Brown shared a cell with teenaged inmate Darius Robinson, who's facing first degree murder charges in the 2011 shooting death of a Vero Beach father, Brian Simpson. 

In the internal affairs case, Robinson's mother, Octavia Ball, allegedly received a threatening note from Henry Lee, the other inmate also accused of first degree murder in the Simpson shooting death.

According to Indian River County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Sgt. Thomas Raulen, the investigation determined the note Deputy Stovall passed to inmate Brown was about a motorcycle.

"The note that the deputy received was related to an inmate trying to perhaps sell his motorcycle or put him in touch with a family member to sell the motorcycle," said Raulen. "Doing something of that nature is considered contraband."

Indian River County Sheriff's Office policy for this type of violation is 10 days suspension without pay.

Deputy Stovall began serving his suspension when the investigation concluded in September, and has been allowed to spread out the suspension instead of serving it in a block period of time.