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 Alvin Cross Junior probably regretted sending this text (Picture: Dougherty County Police Dept) 
 
 Sometimes people become so desperate that they don’t know where to turn. 
 
 When prospects look dire and family and friends neglect them, some folks resort to dialing the dealer. 
 
 However, one man decided to avoid this route, opting to contact a far more unusual confidant instead. 
 
 According to WALB, Alvin Cross Jr, of Albany, Georgia, texted ‘you have some weed?’ to his probation officer. 
 
 That’s right, Alvin asked the man supervising his probationary period following a stint in prison if he had any drugs to sell. 
 
 After the text was received, drug agents raided Cross’ home and found a bag of cocaine. 
 
 Unsurprisingly, he will now be returning to prison. ||||| This could happen to any of us. 
 
 Well, if any of us was serving probation. 
 
 This was the case with Alvin Cross Jr. of Albany, Ga. Cross Jr. seems to have gotten his wires crossed — or, more accurately, his fingers — when he reportedly texted who he thought was his drug dealer. 
 
 The accitext? “You have some weed?” The recipient? His parole officer. 
 
 As WALB-TV reports, Cross’s parole officer may or may not have been cross, but the authorities were informed. His home was raided. Cocaine was found. 
 
 Cross reportedly pleaded guilty on Monday to cocaine possession. He was given one year in jail and another year for violating his probation. (It’s not clear what he was on probation for.) 
 
 You may or may not have sympathy with Cross Jr. or with America’s drug laws. But the immediacy offered by cellphones, and the automatic way in which we use them, has surely caused many relationships and even careers to falter. 
 
 It’s always worth taking those extra two seconds before you press Send. Those two seconds could save you two years. 
 
 MORE TECHNICALLY INCORRECT ||||| If you were to get high and make a list of people who, hypothetically, you would not want to text with a request for weed, "probation officer" would probably be near the top. Right up there with Simon from Alvin and the Chipmunks and former president George H.W. Bush. 
 
 But knowing you shouldn't hit up your P.O. when you're trying to buy drugs is only half the battle. You also have to not accidentally type "You have some weed?" in a message to that person, and then hit "send." 
 
 This was too much for Albany, Ga., man Alvin Cross, Jr, whose unfortunate misdirected text resulted in a raid on his house, where he was rearrested and charged with possession of a bag of cocaine. He pleaded guilty Monday and will serve one year in prison. 
 
 Should have blamed it on ducking autocorrect. 
 
 [Photo: WALB, h/t: The Root] ||||| You don't have to be stupid to go to prison, but it helps. 
 
 A few news articles I read today prove that maxim. 
 
 In Albany, Georgia, a man who texted "You have some weed?" to his probation officer will soon be a lot closer to drug dealers. 
 
 Alvin Cross, Jr., will spend another year in prison for violating terms of his probation and another year for having a "bag" of cocaine in his house when the probation officer he texted came knocking with drug agents and a search warrant, writes WALB.com. 
 
 The WALB article doesn't tell us why Cross was on probation, how much cocaine he had, or why a man with cocaine can't trade it for marijuana without a text message to his probation officer. 
 
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 The second case of stupid comes out of Alabama. 
 
 Inmate Anthony Warren claimed to have been beaten by police when they arrested him after he rolled his vehicle during a high-speed chase. 
 
 The city of Birmingham has agreed to settle the civil lawsuit for $460,000, but Warren will only get $1,000. His attorneys will be paid $359,000 in fees and $100,000 in expenses, says AL.com. 
 
 Warren, who endangered many lives when he fled from a narcotics officer in 2008, hit a school bus, police car and police officer during the 20-minute high-speed chase. While placing him under arrest, police hit Warren for 10 seconds, according to video . 
 
 Warren won't have much opportunity to spend his $1,000. He's serving a 20-year attempted murder sentence for hitting the police officer with his car. 
 
 Meanwhile, on the "good guy" side of the law, a prison guard who gave drugs to female inmates before sexually assaulting them was sentenced to probation. 
 
 More news you may find worthy: ||||| Dopey: Alvin Cross texted the wrong person and ended up in jail 
 
 We’ve all had that heart-stopping moment after realising we sent a text to the wrong person but few of us would expect to end up in jail for it. 
 
 Hapless Alvin Cross Jr was not so lucky after the dopey criminal sent a text message to probation officer asking if they had any drugs. 
 
 Dopey Cross was on probation for an unknown offence when he accidentally sent his appointed officer a text message asking: “you have some weed?” 
 
 According to US news channel WALB, upon getting the message, the probation officer contacted police who then raided the criminal’s home and discovered a bag of cocaine. 
 
 Cross reportedly pleaded guilty on Monday to cocaine possession and was given one year in jail and another year for violating his probation. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. SUBSCRIBE 
 
 Disturbing photos of a teen beaten at a Georgia prison — apparently captured on an inmate's cellphone — made it onto Facebook before corrections officials even knew he had been hurt, the victim's family told NBC News on Wednesday. 
 
 Cortez Berry was assaulted at the Al Burruss Correctional Training Center in Forsyth in what his family says was a gang attack. The assailants apparently posted cellphone pictures to Facebook showing Berry crouched below two shirtless young men, his eye swollen shut and his neck threaded through a makeshift leash. 
 
 After seeing the pictures online, his relatives say they made panicked calls to the facility that went unanswered until Berry’s aunt, Shavondria Wright, drove to the prison and knocked on the door. (CORRECTS name of Shavondria Wright) 
 
 “I rang the buzzer, nobody came,” said Wright, 34. “So then I called and I said you have to go check on my nephew. I said there is something wrong with him because we have seen disturbing photos.” 
 
 The Department of Correction said the attack was under investigation. It confirmed Berry is the teen in the photo, making him the latest high-profile victim of a prison system advocates and families say is out of control — and highlighting the growing presence of cellphones in prison. 
 
 Earlier this month, NBC Newsreported the DOC confiscated more than 13,500 cell phones last year. In some cases, they have been used to extort families of other prisoners. 
 
 READ: NBC Investigates report on cellphones behind bars 
 
 The Augusta Chronicle reported that Berry’s girlfriend got a call demanding $300 to keep him safe, but the caller hung up. Wright and Harris said they received no demands, but that Berry told them the beating was gang-motivated. 
 
 He told his aunt that on Friday afternoon, the day before he turned 18, a group of men tried to get him to join a gang known as the Gangster Disciples or GD Nation. 
 
 “They said bro, you might as well go ahead and join the GD, because you’re about to turn 18,” Berry said, according to Wright. At 18, he would be moved from the juvenile to the adult areas of the facility. 
 
 Berry said he refused, then they jumped him and posted the pictures on Facebook with the caption “WEN YHU DISRESPECT DA NATION...IT BRINGZ NUTHIN BUT PAIN & SUFFERINGG..”
– A guy in Albany, Ga., texted his probation officer by mistake asking, "You have any weed?" The probation officer then showed up at the errant texter's house with drug agents who found a bag of cocaine, reports WALB. And that's why Alvin Cross is not only going back to prison for violating his parole, he's serving an extra year. The story seems to have hit a sweet spot of dumb criminal/tech gaffe, because Cross is the butt of a lot of jokes out there: Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "You don’t have to be stupid to go to prison, but it helps." Gawker: "If you were to get high and make a list of people who, hypothetically, you would not want to text with a request for weed, 'probation officer' would probably be near the top." Death and Taxes: "Here’s a little pro-tip: If you find yourself on probation from jail, under no circumstances should you text your probation officer the message, 'You have some weed?'" CNET: "This could happen to any of us. Well, if any of us was serving probation." Metro: This UK (!) outlet takes a more narrative approach: "When prospects look dire and family and friends neglect them, some folks resort to dialing the dealer. However, one man decided to avoid this route, opting to contact a far more unusual confidant instead." And on and on. (The guy who butt-dialed 911 during a drug deal seemed to get better treatment.)