Tougher drug screening at jail results in an arrest; more expected

from left, Strafford County Sheriff David Dubois, County Commissioners Leo Lessard, George Maglaras and Robert Watson and County Attorney Tom Velardi at Thursday's press conference at Strafford County Courthouse in Dover (Lebanon Voice photo)

COPYRIGHT2017© DOVER - Strafford County Sheriff David Dubois said on Thursday that one inmate has been arrested trying to smuggle drugs into the county jail as a result of enhanced screening implemented after an incident earlier this month in which five inmates overdosed the same day.

The announcement came during a press conference called by the County Commissioners' Office to inform the media of enhanced procedures - including the cessation of mail delivery at the jail - to reduce the amount of drugs going into the jail.

As a result of those measures, Dubois said inmate Jed Cameron, 39, formerly of Wolfeboro, was arrested on June 23 for allegedly trying to smuggle controlled drugs into the jail. The official RSA title of the charge is delivery of articles to prisoners, a Class B felony that can bring a seven-year prison sentence. Cameron was charged with felony possession of the opioid buprenorphine and another felony as he had been previously convicted on similar charges in December 2002.

Jed Cameron (Strafford County Jail photo)

Dubois also announced the formation of a five-investigator task force that will work solely on an ongoing criminal probe into how drugs are getting into the facility.

The task force was given final approval on June 14 and besides aiding in the arrest of Cameron, is expected to take more actions against inmates involved in the drug trade, including further arrests, Dubois said.

Also present at the press conference were the three County Commissioners, County Attorney Tom Velardi and Acting Jail Superintendent Chris Brackett, who said. "We know we can't completely eliminate drugs coming into jail, but we can do our best to keep it to a minimum."

County Commissioner Chairman George Maglaras called the jail's new enhanced screening program innovative and outside the box and commended the new programs and procedures, none of which were disclosed for obvious reasons.

The scope of the problem of drugs at the jail was brought to the fore earlier this month when on June 6 five inmates overdosed on what officials now believe was a nonopiate narcotic. During that incident several ambulances had to be dispatched to treat the victims, all of whom recovered. Their names have not been released.

Dubois said they are "very confident" that the drugs that led to the overdoses came through inmate mail, which was shut down as a result of the incident.

Aggravating the situation even more was an incident earlier this year in which a jail guard was accused of smuggling drugs into inmates.

Jail corrections officer Bryant Shipman, 25, of Rochester was arrested in March and indicted earlier this month on cocaine and fentanyl trafficking charges. Shipman, who was first suspended and then resigned from his guard position, faces up to 37 years and $600,000 in fines if convicted.

Velardi said it was vital to keep drugs out of the jail as there is a recuperative component of inmate incarceration and they can't get clean if there's that ability to obtain and use drugs there.

"We also have inmates who don't use drugs and we don't need them to be drawn into this either," Velardi said.

County Commissioner Leo Lessard added that he didn't want the drug problem at the jail to overshadow all the good work done by the huge percentage of jail guards who are dedicated to their jobs.

Brackett said the new enhanced procedures and protocols include tougher screening for inmates allowed to work outside the jail during the day as they return in the evening.

"It's not like this is only going on in Strafford County," Maglaras added. "This is a problem across every jail and prison in America.

"However, I think the innovation that we are using now in combatting this is unique and outside the box."

Among the innovation dovetailing with the cessation of mail delivery between inmates and family is the introduction of a program in which all of the some 500 inmates at the jail are given a tablet with which they can send emails.

The emails are sent through a server maintained by a company called Global Tel Link, and are closely monitored by jail staff.

Once at the Global Tel site, inmates can download games or send an email for about 25 cents.

Brackett stressed they have no access to the Internet, only the Global Tel site, adding being able to communicate by email with family is a therapeutic and rehabilitative tool preparing inmates for when they're released.

"That communication with family is vital in their being reconnected to the outside when they leave," Velardi added.

Summing it all up, Brackett added that they don't expect to eradicate the presence of drugs at the jail, but that doesn't stop them from trying.

"We 'can't expect to stop it, but we're forever looking into it," he said.