Baltimore women charged after contraband drops in prison diaper disposal near Hagerstown
Two Baltimore women face drug and contraband charges after allegedly trying to smuggle thousands of dollars worth of contraband into Roxbury Correctional Institution south of Hagerstown earlier this month by leaving items in a prison gatehouse bathroom, according to court records.
Among the contraband left in a diaper disposal can in the bathroom — in both cases — were the synthetic opioid buprenorphine and tobacco products, according to charging documents.
The total prison value of the contraband from both cases is $185,700.
The method of contraband smuggling is reminiscent of a scheme the Maryland Attorney General's office recently revealed after a months-long investigation into contraband smuggling into the Roxbury prison. That scheme involved people dropping off contraband in bathrooms at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, where an RCI inmate would pick the packages up during his medical appointments.
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Julie Danielle Chatterton, 24, and Monica Elaine Shields, 51, were both charged with felony possession of buprenorphine with intent to distribute in the contraband smuggling attempts through the prison gatehouse. Chatterton also was charged with felony possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
The maximum penalty, upon conviction, for each of those drug distribution charges is up to five years in state prison and/or a $15,000 fine.
Roxbury is a medium-security prison with approximately 1,575 inmates. It is one of three state prisons south of Hagerstown along Roxbury Road.
The gatehouse administration building is where visitors check in, according to an email from Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services spokesman Mark Vernarelli.
"Observant and diligent correctional officers and specialized units were prepared for this illegal activity and were on the scene to engage in this type of intervention," Vernarelli wrote in an email on Monday.
Employees at the prison, as well as department K-9 officers and intelligence units, constantly work to keep the staff and inmates safe, Vernarelli said.
"Here again, they did an excellent job," Vernarelli wrote.
The investigation is ongoing, he said.
As of Monday, no related charges were filed against the inmates the women told authorities had requested the contraband, according to online court records searches.
Contraband smuggling at RCI was the subject of a recent news conference outside the prison. Several people, including a now former correctional officer, were indicted related to months-long investigations last year into schemes that included drones, the correctional officer, and one where people dropped off contraband in bathrooms at a Baltimore hospital where an inmate went for medical appointments.
The correctional officer indicted was normally assigned to the Jessup Correctional Institution in Anne Arundel County and occasionally worked overtime shifts in the Roxbury prison kitchen.
Details of RCI gatehouse contraband smuggling attempts
Both women in the more recent cases allegedly told investigators they arrived at RCI's gatehouse on June 4 with no intention of actually visiting an inmate, court records state.
Chatterton allegedly told investigators she was paid $3,500 via Cash App to bring in contraband, which her boyfriend — an inmate — had requested, charging documents state.
Chatterton wore a long-sleeve jacket and hid packages of contraband in its pockets, court records state. She allegedly told investigators she removed the garbage bag from the baby diaper disposal in the women's restroom and dropped the packages in there before putting the garbage bag over the packages.
RCI intelligence officers also have recorded calls between Chatterton and her boyfriend discussing the contraband plan, court records state.
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Among the items authorities found in the packages Chatterton left was buprenorphine, Suboxone, suspected synthetic marijuana, tobacco, cellphones, memory storage devices and other drug- and telecommunications-related paraphernalia, charging documents state.
Chatterton faces multiple misdemeanors for possessing telecommunications-related devices with the intent to deliver them to someone confined in state prison or delivering them to a confined individual. The devices include a cellphone, a SIM card and a charger. Each of those charges has a maximum possible penalty of five years in state prison and/or a $3,000 fine.
The prison value of the items Chatterton allegedly tried to smuggle in is $152,000, while the value of the contraband Shields allegedly brought to the restroom is $33,700.
The contraband Shields is accused of dropping off in the bathroom includes heroin, buprenorphine, suspected marijuana, cigars stuffed with suspected marijuana, cigarettes and rolling papers, according to charging documents.
Shields allegedly told investigators her brother, an inmate, offered to pay her if she put the packages in the diaper disposal can, court records state. She put the packages up her shirt and walked into the bathroom, putting them under the trash bag in the diaper container.
Shields also allegedly was hiding a vile of heroin in her bra that was hers for personal use, court records state.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Baltimore women charged after prison contraband drops in diaper can
