CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Six people were charged for their roles in a "complex scheme to get illicit drugs into the county jail," according to the Chesterfield Sheriff's Office.
A two-month investigation revealed mail sent to the jail contained hidden drugs.
"Existing restrictions for legal mail prohibit staff from conducting the more thorough and detailed examination that they perform on general mail for inmates," Chesterfield Sheriff's Captain Eric Jones wrote in an email. "As part of this extensive investigation, one search of an inmate’s possessions recovered one legal letter that had been delivered that was found to contain almost two dozen Suboxone strips which are a sublingual film placed under the tongue."
The strips, according to investigators, can be hidden between paper, under stamps, and under envelope flaps.
"As a result of this attempt to capitalize on a legal loophole the Chesterfield Sheriff’s Office has implemented an additional screening element when legal mail is opened and inspected by a deputy in the presence of the recipient," the email continued.
Suboxone, according to investigators, can be addictive and can result in overdoses.
Those charged include:
- Jersey James Grant
- Feraud Tyrell Freeman-Butler
- Devonte Anthony Terrell Boucher, Jr.
- James Logan Williams
- Samantha Daulton
- Erica Freeman-Butler
