Three people are facing charges in the death of a federal prison worker in California who died earlier this month after handling a drug-laced package sent to an inmate at U.S. Penitentiary Atwater, the Justice Department (DOJ) announced Tuesday.
Inmate Jamar Jones, 35; Stephanie Ferreira, 35, of Indiana; and Jermen Rudd III, 37, of Missouri, are charged with conspiring to introduce narcotics into USP Atwater, the DOJ said.
Between July 15 and Aug. 9, Jones and Ferreira allegedly had Rudd mail a package laced with drugs that was fraudulently labeled as legal mail, according to court documents.
On Aug. 9, a USP Atwater corrections officer opened that package and, within minutes “began to feel ill,” the DOJ said. Federal officials said the package contained what they described as wet or waxy paper.
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An exterior view of USP Atwater in Atwater, Calif. (BOP)
Medical staff evaluated the officer and rushed him to a hospital, where he died. Another correctional officer became ill after handling the package but later recovered, the DOJ said.
Federal officials said the material handled by the officers “tested presumptively positive for amphetamines, fentanyl and ‘spice,’ or synthetic cannabinoids, among other substances.”
Jones, Ferreira and Rudd were arrested Tuesday.
A man prepares to smoke fentanyl on a park bench in downtown Portland, Ore., May 18, 2023. (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian)
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Each has been charged in a criminal complaint with conspiring to distribute controlled substances and introducing narcotic drugs to an inmate at USP Atwater, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said.
Ferreira will be arraigned in the Southern District of Indiana, Rudd will be arraigned in the Eastern District of Missouri and Jones will make his initial court appearance next week in Fresno.
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Each defendant faces between 20 and 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
