Correctional officer accused of smuggling drugs to inmate at Stillwater state prison

Kristi Belcamino, Pioneer Press
·2 min read

A St. Paul woman who worked as a Stillwater prison correctional officer has been charged with smuggling methamphetamine to an inmate.

Faith Rose Gratz, 24, was charged with one count of possession and one count of intent to sell methamphetamine, according to the criminal complaint filed by Washington County prosecutors.

According to the complaint, in early April, investigators at the Minnesota Correction Facility-Stillwater in Bayport confiscated a cellphone from an inmate. The complaint says that Gratz gave the phone to the inmate. When the phone was searched, investigators found several messages between Gratz and the inmate about Gratz picking up a half-pound of meth from one of the inmate’s contacts outside the prison.

In the texts, the inmate and Gratz discuss her bringing the methamphetamine to the prison on April 8 or 9.

On April 8, investigators staked out the parking lot until Gratz arrived at about 5:30 a.m. When they served a search warrant, they found a plastic bag containing half a pound of methamphetamine under the back seat of her vehicle.

Gratz later admitted to bringing about six packages of meth to the inmate during the previous four months. She said at first she didn’t know what the packages contained, but admitted later learning the packages contained narcotics.

The complaint didn’t say whether Gratz received anything in exchange for smuggling the meth into the prison.

“These allegations are deeply troubling and are not indicative of the incredible work done by corrections staff every day to make Minnesota a safer place to live. Smuggling illegal drugs into a prison presents a grave risk to staff and the incarcerated population, and we will continue to cooperate fully with this case,” said Nicholas Kimball, a spokesman with the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

Under each felony count, Gratz faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

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