Three people have been indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple drug offenses that resulted in the death of a correction officer at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atwater.
U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert announced the indictment on Thursday.
The big picture: Court documents state that from July 15 to Aug. 9, Jamar Jones, 35, Stephanie Feerreira, 35, and Jermen Rudd III, 37, conspired to introduce narcotics into USP Atwater.
- Jones is an inmate at USP Atwater, while Ferreira is from Evansville, Indiana, and Rudd is from Wentzville, Missouri.
- Jones and Ferreira had Rudd mail a letter laced with narcotics to Jones for him to sell. The letter was fraudulently labeled as legal mail.
- On Aug. 9, two correctional officers at USP Atwater opened the letter and quickly fell ill.
- The Supervisory Correctional Systems Specialist was taken to the hospital and passed away shortly after. The other correctional officer recovered.
Go deeper: Court documents state that the narcotics in the letter consisted of two varieties of synthetic cannabinoids sold under the street name “spice.”
- Ferreira made an initial appearance in the Southern District of Indiana federal court and remains in custody and will be transferred to Fresno.
- Rudd made an initial appearance in the Eastern District of Missouri Court and is pending transfer to Fresno. Jones appeared in federal court in Fresno on Thursday.
What we’re watching: The investigation into the death of the correctional officer is still ongoing.
- If convicted of conspiracy to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance, Jones and Rudd face up to 30 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.
- If Jones is convicted of being an inmate obtaining or attempting to obtain narcotic drug, he would face up to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.
- If Ferreira is convicted of conspiracy to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance, she would face up to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.
- Ferreira and Rudd would also face up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $250,000 if convicted of providing or attempting to provide an inmate with a narcotic drug.
