Correctional officer charged for selling drugs at Chester County Prison: DA
CHESTER COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) -- A correctional officer was arrested for allegedly smuggling drugs and distributing them inside the Chester County Prison, District Attorney Deb Ryan said on Tuesday.
Antoine Williams, 27, of Philadelphia was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, unlawful activity and other offenses.
"The defendant was hired as a correctional officer to uphold the law and keep order in the prison, but he completely violated his position of authority. No one is above the law. My office will hold him accountable for his unlawful actions. We thank the Chester County Prison and the Chester County Detectives for their investigation into this egregious violation," Ryan said in a statement.
The DA's office alleges that Williams was bringing drugs inside the prison by hiding them in small trash bag rolls.
An inmate at Chester County Prison told another correctional officer that his former cellmate, Jonathan Aguilera, received suboxone from Williams, which he was later paid for through Cash App.
The DA's office said a search was conducted on Aguilera's block where correctional officers found small trash bags inside his cell. Following the search, Aguilera tested positive for Buprenorphine, also known as suboxone, through a urine sample.
Two days later, the DA's office said a second inmate spoke with a lieutenant at the Chester County Prison who said Williams sells suboxone, tobacco and K-2 -- a designer drug intended to mimic THC -- to inmates on the L-block by placing the drugs in small trash bags.
The inmate also told authorities Williams is paid through a cash app and he used Aguilera's help to sell to other inmates, the DA's office said.
A few days after that incident, Williams was seen on security videos with "what appeared to be a roll of toilet paper and trash bags," according to the DA's office. He was later seen placing the roll of trash bags on the cell bars on L-block, the DA's office said.
Chester County detectives later found Williams uses Cash App after searching his cell phone number through the app's search engine, the DA's office said.
Aguilera told detectives Williams brought suboxone, marijuana and Percocet into the Chester County Prison on multiple occasions, according to the DA's office. He also told authorities he purchased suboxone from Williams between April and August.
Aguilera was charged $50 per strip of suboxone and screenshots of the payments were given to detectives, the DA's office said.
A search warrant later determined there were nine different Cash App accounts related to Williams, according to the DA's office. In June, there were several Cash App payments made between Aguilera and Williams. They ranged from $50 to $400, the DA's office said.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 6, 2023 for Williams. Bail was set at $150,000.