The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) announced on Friday that it had conducted multiple contraband arrests across the state, including one health care worker, as it continues to hammer down on illegal items making their way into state prisons.
A total of five individuals were arrested between Thursday evening and Friday morning and charged with multiple counts connected to smuggling contraband.
On Thursday, ADOC K-9 officers were alerted to possible trespassers at Ventress Correctional Facility in Clayton, located in Barbour County.
Officers observed Karl Oscar Fastnacht attempting to introduce contraband into the facility. Subsequently, the Clayton Police Department located a suspicious vehicle in the area and identified Jimmy Harden Murphy, Deunate Tarez Jews, and Stephanie Donnell Wilson Chapman waiting in a car. Further investigation revealed that all four subjects were together and attempting to promote prison contraband.
Contraband seized included eight grams of fentanyl, six grams of ecstasy, 14 cell phones, multiple charging blocks, and Black and Mild Cigars.
All four are charged with promoting prison contraband in the first and second degrees, possession of a controlled substance and trafficking fentanyl.
Hours later, on Friday morning, ADOC K9 and Narcotics officers conducted a vehicle checkpoint at Limestone Correctional Facility.
At approximately 5:25 a.m., a red SUV was observed turning around approximately 150 yards from the checkpoint. ADOC personnel attempted to stop the vehicle on the access road, but the driver refused to stop. After a short pursuit, officers detained Monica Bishop, an employee of YesCare, the contract health care provider for ADOC.
Officers discovered 195 grams of methamphetamines, 160 grams of marijuana, and 190 grams of chemically altered paper.
Bishop is charged with trafficking methamphetamine, first-degree promoting prison contraband, first-degree possession of marijuana and unlawful distribution of a controlled substance.
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