15 Indicted After Drones Used To Smuggle Drugs Into MD Prison: AG

HAGERSTOWN, MD — Fifteen people were indicted this week in connection with three different conspiracies to smuggle drugs and other contraband into Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown.

According to a news release from Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, those accused operated a "sophisticated criminal network" that used drones, a correctional officer, and a hospital to smuggle fentanyl, cell phones, tools, and other items to inmates at the Washington County facility.

The indictment comes six weeks after 11 others were charged in connection with a similar conspiracy at Jessup Correctional Institution in Anne Arundel County.

• RELATED: 11 Indicted For Smuggling Drugs Into MD Prison: Attorney General

According to prosecutors, authorities launched an investigation in April 2022 after drugs and other items were found on an inmate returning to the prison from a hospital visit. The investigation revealed a "complex web" of conspiracies used to smuggle items into the facility.

In the first conspiracy, prosecutors said inmate Jose Tapia recruited two civilians using Instagram and paid them to fly drones over the prison fence and drop drugs and other contraband for Tapia to receive and redistribute within the facility.

In September 2022, prosecutors said authorities interrupted an attempted drone delivery and arrested Guy Austin and Miya Scott. Investigators also recovered a drone Austin and Scott had crashed the night before while attempting to make a delivery, prosecutors said.

According to authorities, the recovered packages attached to the drones contained drugs, tools, cell phones, phone chargers, SIM cords, headphones, and thumb drives.

According to prosecutors, the following people are charged in connection with the first conspiracy:

• Jose Tapia, 36. Tapia, an RCI Inmate, faces 10 charges, including contraband conspiracy and illegally possessing a telecommunications device in a place of confinement.
• Guy Austin Jr., 30, of Baltimore. Austin, an outside facilitator for Jose Tapia, faces 60 charges, including contraband conspiracy, possession of controlled dangerous substances with the intent to distribute, and attempt to deliver contraband to a place of confinement.
• Miya Scott, 25, of Baltimore. Scott, an outside facilitator for Jose Tapia, faces 19 charges, including contraband conspiracy.

In the second conspiracy, prosecutors said dietary correctional officer Temille Ashby, a 10-year veteran of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, smuggled drugs to inmate Jamal Brown, who would redistribute them within the prison.

According to prosecutors, Ashby and Brown worked together in the facility's kitchen. In November 2022, authorities said they intercepted Ashby as she reported to work. Authorities found a bundle of approximately 158 strips of Suboxone on her person, prosecutors said.

According to the indictment, Ashby received approximately $16,132 in payments from Brown and his family members for her involvement in the conspiracy.

According to prosecutors, the following people are charged in connection with the second conspiracy:

• Temille Ashby, 33. Ashby, a dietary correctional officer, faces 14 charges, including contraband conspiracy, possession of controlled dangerous substances with the intent to distribute, and attempt to deliver contraband to a place of confinement.
• Jamal Brown, 33. Brown, an RCI inmate, faces eight charges, including contraband conspiracy and illegally possessing a telecommunications device in a place of confinement.

In the final conspiracy, prosecutors said inmate Akeem Banks was taken from the prison to the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore City for medical treatment. When he arrived, prosecutors said Banks would retrieve bundles of drugs and other contraband in hospital bathrooms, which were hidden there by friends and families of other inmates. Once he returned to RCI, authorities said Banks would give the items to other inmates, who would redistribute them within the facility.

According to prosecutors, authorities intercepted four packages between April and August 2022. The packages contained fentanyl, cell phones, power adaptors, flash drives, and cigarettes, according to the indictment.

Five people are charged in the final conspiracy, including:

• Akeem Banks, 29. Banks, an RCI inmate, faces 40 charges, including contraband conspiracy, possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute, and possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
• Jason Butler, 44. Butler, an RCI inmate, faces six charges, including contraband conspiracy and attempt to possess contraband in a place of confinement.
• Tracy Williams, 49, of Brooklyn. Williams, an outside facilitator for Jason Butler, faces four charges, including charges of contraband conspiracy.
• Deven Matos, 29. Matos, an RCI inmate, faces six charges, including contraband conspiracy and illegally possessing a telecommunications device in a place of confinement.
• Keith Shuford, 26, of Waldorf. Shuford, an outside facilitator for Deven Matos, faces four charges, including charges of contraband conspiracy.

Additionally, prosecutors said contraband and other items were found in several cells within the prison. The searches resulted in the following charges:

• Denis Alvarez, 27. Alvarez, an RCI inmate, faces two charges, including illegal possession of a telecommunications device in a place of confinement and possession of contraband.
• James Careton, 34. Careton, an RCI inmate, faces five charges, including illegal possession of a telecommunications device in a place of confinement and possession of contraband.
• Jeffrey Gilmore, 41. Gilmore, an RCI inmate, faces 13 counts, including illegal possession of a telecommunications device in a place of confinement and possession of a controlled dangerous substance in a place of confinement.
• Avery Perry, 31. Perry, an RCI inmate, faces four charges, including illegal possession of a telecommunications device in a place of confinement and possession of contraband.
• Deon Warren, 28. Warren, an RCI inmate, faces two charges, including illegal possession of a telecommunications device in a place of confinement and possession of contraband.

The investigation was led by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General's Organized Crime Unit, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the Washington County Narcotics Task Force, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Washington Division.