Man tried to throw football stuffed with drugs into prison yard

A Detroit man is facing felony charges after he allegedly tried to throw a football containing drugs, cell phones and other contraband into the yard of a state prison in Jackson on Sunday.

The throw came up short and the football landed between two fences at the G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility and did not land in the yard where prisoners exercise, said Trooper Toby Baker of the Michigan State Police Jackson post.

A prison officer who was in the parking lot saw the man throw the football — which contained heroin, marijuana, tobacco, three cell phones and chargers — and he was apprehended at the scene.

"After observing the passenger exit the vehicle and throw the football, our officer ran towards the vehicle and drew his Taser and told the driver to stop, which he did," said Russ Marlan, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections.