Stillwater corrections officer, inmate charged in meth distribution conspiracy
STILLWATER, Minn. -- U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger announced on Thursday that both a corrections officer and an inmate at the Stillwater corrections facility have been charged for their alleged roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.
Luger says 24-year-old corrections officer Faith Rose Gratz worked with 34-year-old inmate Axel Rene Kramer to distribute meth within the prison complex. Kramer is currently serving a 24-year sentence for second-degree murder in the November 2007 death of 20-year-old Alberto Samilpa Jr., according to court records.
The complaint says that Kramer would arrange for wholesale quantities of meth to be supplied for him. Gratz would then allegedly pick up the packages and smuggle them into the prison while she was on duty guarding him. Gratz also would warn Kramer whenever searches of inmates' cells would happen, so that he would be able to hide his phone and the drugs, the complaint says.
Luger says there's documentation of hundreds of text messages, and the two were allegedly involved in a romantic relationship.
Law enforcement officers did ultimately find Kramer's cell phone in April. They searched Gratz's vehicle and found a half-pound of meth.
Kramer and Gratz are both charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and Gratz faces an additional count of possession with intent to distribute.
Both defendents will appear in court on a date yet to be determined.
