Three separate visitors to Washington State Penitentiary during the past week were arrested after arriving at the prison with drugs.
A news release from the state Department of Corrections said all three of the suspects likely planned to deliver the drugs into the prison, and two of them admitted to prior deliveries.
Laura Spracklin of Olympia and McKenzi Maple of Cheney were both charged with possession of controlled substances, and Maple with an additional charge of possession of contraband.
The third suspect has not been charged. All three were arrested Monday, March 17, on suspicion of the Class B felonies.
“Do not bring drugs or guns into prisons,” said Rod Coll, an investigator with the state DOC Intelligence and Investigations Unit. “We see it more than we would like to, and we catch it all the time. Now, these three individuals have felony charges of their own to deal with.”
The news release said physical mail is scanned for digital delivery to inmates because mail is often found to contain opioids and cannabinoids. All visitors are screened, and the department is currently conducting a body scanner pilot program to allow for more frequent and less personally invasive screenings. The release also said balloons and drones have been intercepted flying over prison perimeters.
“When drugs make it into prisons, it undermines our core function to rehabilitate,” DOC Secretary Tim Lang said. “This is a daily issue. It’s a profound threat. So we’re very focused on keeping drugs out.”
Coll said, “I say this all the time to visitors that we offer visitation for you to spend time with your loved ones and keep up that bond. We’re not here to scare you. But we do get bad actors, and we perform all this security to maintain a safe environment.”
The state DOC estimates that more than a third of its prison population suffers from opioid use disorder and more than a quarter of the population has been formally diagnosed.
