Colorado prison guard, inmate’s mother arrested after drug exchange
Denver CO March 7 2018 Agents from the Colorado Inspector General’s Office arrested a prison correctional officer and the 64-year-old mother of a Sterling Correctional Facility inmate shortly after the pair made a drug exchange at a McDonald’s restaurant, officials say.
Mark Christian English, 31, of Sterling, and Lora Wilson have been arrested for investigation of drug possession, conspiracy to introduce contraband, and drug possession with intent to distribute, according to Mark Fairbairn, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Corrections. They were also charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession.
“This is a very big case. It jeopardizes the safety and security of the prison. It can cause fights over money and debts,” Fairbairn said Tuesday.
The alleged drug exchange happened on Feb. 27 in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant in Sterling.
Sterling police and corrections department agents watched the drug transaction. Wilson allegedly handed the drugs to English, a correctional officer at the Sterling prison.
English was planning to smuggle the drugs into prison, possibly to Wilson’s son or associates, according to Fairbairn.
Fairbairn said one of the correction department’s top priorities is rehabilitation. Smuggling drugs inside the prison leads directly to a succession of crimes including drug dealing and buying.
“If we have a compromised staff member that’s a huge problem,” he said. “It erodes confidence in staff members including those who are doing a good job.”
He added that convicts are very good at picking out staff members who are vulnerable to corruption.
Wilson, the inmate’s mother, has her own history of criminal convictions. In 2008, Denver prosecutors charged her with forging government documents and checks. She served two years of probation for forging government documents.
Bond was set at $5,000 for both English and Wilson.
Denver Post
