15 people, including correctional officer, plead guilty in Maryland state prison smuggling

Maryland state authorities announced the guilty plea of 15 people, including inmates, civilians and a correctional officer, for their roles in a prison contraband conspiracy operating at Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown.

The state’s investigation uncovered criminal networks using drones, a correctional officer and a hospital to smuggle drugs such as fentanyl, cellphones, tools and more into the state prison.

“Safety is as important in our correctional institutions as it is to the public in our neighborhoods and communities. This meticulous investigation and subsequent convictions send a clear message that we will not tolerate crime or corruption within our correctional facilities that disrupts the goals of rehabilitation,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a news release.

The investigation started in April 2022 after drugs and other contraband were recovered when an inmate returned to Roxbury from a hospital visit. The corrections department’s Intelligence and Investigative Division worked with the Office of the Attorney General to uncover what turned out to be multiple smuggling conspiracies, according to the release.

In one case, an inmate, Jose Miguel Tapia, recruited two people via Instagram and paid them to fly drones over Roxbury’s fence and drop drugs and other contraband for him to distribute inside.

On Sept. 7, 2022, law enforcement disrupted an attempted drone delivery and arrested Guy Austin, 26, of Baltimore and Miya Scott, 25, of Baltimore, outside the prison. Investigators also found a drone that the pair had crashed the night before while attempting to make a delivery.

The recovered packages had drugs, tools, cellphones, phone chargers, SIM cards, headphones and thumb drives. The inmate is charged with contraband conspiracy and illegal possession of a telecommunications device in a place of confinement.

In July, both Austin and Scott pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver contraband, but Austin had an additional charge of possession of a telecommunication device with intent to deliver it to a place of confinement.

Austin was sentenced to five years, suspending all but 90 days. After release, he will be on three years of supervised probation.

“Mr. Austin, during his plea/sentencing hearing expressed remorse for his actions, while accepting responsibility for them,” said Robert Kline, Austin’s attorney from the Office of the Public Defender.

Scott was sentenced to three years of incarceration, and after her release, she will be on three years of supervised probation. Scott’s attorneys were not immediately available for comment.

In November, Brown announced additional charges against Tapia.

According to the new charges, Tapia allegedly created a fake document and impersonated a representative from the Office of the State’s Attorney in an attempt to secure his unlawful early release from prison.

Tapia allegedly forged a court commitment document with the seal of the Clerk of the Circuit Court, for which he was awarded 449 days of additional, undeserved credit for time served against his sentence. He allegedly sent it to the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City to try to get out of prison early.

From his prison cell, Tapia allegedly electronically faxed the fake order to the clerk’s office, assumed the identity of a representative from the office of the state’s attorney and called the clerk’s office to request that the new commitment be processed.

In another set of charges, Tapia allegedly used a contraband cellphone within his jail cell to facilitate a complex identity fraud scheme. Tapia allegedly assumed the identity of dozens of people, including disguising his voice to impersonate an elderly woman, in an attempt to steal their money.

Tapia impersonated representatives from various hospitals in an attempt to gain unauthorized access to their email systems and finances. Tapia specifically targeted a company that provides electronic payments to hospitals and health care providers, changing the hospital’s fax number to his own electronic fax number so he received faxes for the hospital containing virtual credit card numbers he could then steal.

Tapia, 37, pleaded guilty to each of the lead charges in all three of his cases and was sentenced to 14 years of additional incarceration. Tapia’s attorney could not be found in online court records.

In the second case, correctional officer Temille Ashby, a 10-year veteran of the department who worked at the facility only for overtime, smuggled drugs to inmate Jamal Brown, who would redistribute them within Roxbury, according to the attorney general’s office.

Ashby normally worked at Jessup Correctional Institution in Anne Arundel County but occasionally worked overtime shifts in the kitchen at Roxbury, where Brown was assigned to work.

On Nov. 5, 2022, investigators found a bundle of 158 strips of Suboxone that Ashby had hidden in her body. Authorities said Suboxone, which is used to treat narcotics dependence, is sold for $100 a strip inside prison, and financial records showed that Ashby had received about $16,132 in payments on Cash App from the inmate and his family members.

Ashby, 34, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver contraband. Her sentencing date is set for May 28. Ashby’s attorney Tyler Mann did not have a comment on the matter at this time.

Brown, 33, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver contraband and was sentenced to one year of incarceration, consecutive to all other sentences. Brown’s attorney was not immediately available for comment.

In the last case, authorities said Roxbury inmate Akeem Banks, who was taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, collected bundles of drugs and other contraband hidden in hospital bathrooms by friends and family of other inmates.

Banks hid the contraband in his clothing and smuggled the items back to Roxbury, where he gave the packages to other inmates, like Jason Butler and Devin Matos, for redistribution, according to the attorney general’s office.

Between April through August of last year, law enforcement found four packages of drugs and other contraband intended to be smuggled into the facility. The recovered packages had drugs, including fentanyl, in addition to cellphones, power adapters, flash drives and cigarettes.

Surveillance showed Tracy Williams and Keith Shuford hiding packages within UMMC, according to the attorney general’s office.

Banks, 27, pleaded guilty to felony possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and conspiracy to deliver contraband. He was sentenced to two 1/2 years of incarceration, consecutive to all other sentences. Banks’ attorney was not immediately available for comment.

Butler, 44, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver contraband and was sentenced to one year of incarceration, consecutive to all other sentences. Butler’s attorney’s was not immediately available for comment.

Matos, 30, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver contraband and possession of a telecommunications device in a place of confinement. He was sentenced to nine months of incarceration, consecutive to all other sentences. Matos' attorney could not be found in court records.

Williams, 50, of Baltimore, an outside facilitator for Jason Butler, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver contraband and was sentenced to three years of incarceration. After she is released, she will be on three years of supervised probation. Williams' attorney was not immediately available for comment.

Shuford, 27, of Waldorf, an outside facilitator for Deven Matos, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver contraband. He was sentenced to three years of incarceration, and after his release he will be on three years of supervised probation. Shuford’s attorney was not immediately available for comment.

After investigators searched the cells in the Roxbury facility, five more inmates, including Denis Alvarez, James Careton, Jeffrey Gilmore, Avery Perry and Deon Warren, were charged with possession of contraband, illegal possession of a telecommunications device in a place of confinement and possession of controlled dangerous substance in a place of confinement.

Former RCI inmates Alvarez, Careton, Gilmore, Perry and Warren pleaded guilty to possession of a telecommunications device in a place of confinement. They were all sentenced to six months of incarceration, consecutive to all other sentences.

“During the raid, Mr. Gilmore was found to be in possession of a cellphone. He had the cellphone so that he could have more convenient, private, and frequent conversations with his young son,” said Elizabeth Franzoso, Gilmore’s attorney. “Many prisoners use cellphones so that they do not have to go through the hassle of waiting in line for the prison phones, or be limited to the hours that the phones are available. Because he possessed this cellphone, which was not authorized, he pled guilty and received a six-month sentence, consecutive to the other sentence which he is now serving. He was not involved in the larger conspiracy.”

Warren’s attorney, David Littrel, has no comment at this time.

Alvarez’s and Perry’s attorney was not immediately available for comment. Careton’s attorney was not immediately available for comment.

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