A recent drug-smuggling arrest at California State Prison, Corcoran marks the fourth time this month that someone has tried to sneak narcotics into the facilities, authorities said.
The latest arrest came on Friday as a result of an ongoing investigation by the prison's investigative services unit. The unit served a search warrant on April Elaine Frank, a Citrus Heights resident, when she arrived that afternoon to visit an inmate.
Frank apparently admitted her actions to investigators once confronted and turned over the contraband, which included 61 grams of marijuana, 29.3 grams of heroin and 87.6 grams of tobacco.
Prison spokeswoman Teresa Cisneros said the inmate has been placed in administrative segregation pending further investigation. Prison officials will continue to monitor inmate phone calls to learn of impending drug or other illegal activity.
The inmate, who was not identified, could be charged in the future with conspiracy to distribute narcotics inside the facility.
Frank, 21, was booked into the Kings County Jail on suspicion of conspiring to commit a crime, furnishing marijuana and other drug-related charges. She remains at the Kings County Jail with her bail set at $370,000.
Frank's arrest was not the first at the prison or its adjacent Substance Abuse Treatment Facility this month. Cisneros said these arrests are an "unfortunately common" issue for state prisons.
Prison officials throughout California have pointed to a rise in contraband smuggling in recent years, with cell phones quickly becoming the top illicit commodity.
Known as "drug mules," smugglers are commonly recruited friends, family members and other loved ones of inmates. They are convinced to break the law for the inmate's benefit and suffer severe penalties if caught for bringing narcotics into a state institution.
Authorities say inmates frequently target young and elderly women.
The first arrest this month was on Jan. 1, when a Lemoore woman allegedly tried to sneak heroin into the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility.
Rachell Nicole Lowery was arrested in connection with the case and later posted bail of $430,000.
Days later, a Visalia woman was taken into custody as she tried to slip into the institution with an undetermined quantity of marijuana. Alicia Ruiz, 47, was briefly booked into the Kings County Jail and has since been released.
But perhaps the most notable case came on Jan. 4. Employees received an anonymous note saying an inmate might be assaulted in one part of the prison where contraband could also be found.
Investigators swept through the building and came across one employee - Rebecca Romero - acting in a suspicious manner, Cisneros said.
Romero, an office technician, apparently refused to allow correctional officers to search her work area. When they pushed the issue, she handed over two bindles of marijuana and cell phone she'd brought in - possibly to sell to an inmate.
Romero was booked on suspicion of supplying a controlled substance, possession of drugs within a jail, conspiring to commit a crime and other allegations.
She has since been released from custody and still maintains her status as an employee, though she is no longer allowed inside the prison's secure perimeter, Cisneros said.
"We haven't had an arrest like this in a few months," Cisneros said. "Unfortunately, we have to deal with these kinds of cases more than we'd like to."
The reporter can be reached at 583-2425.
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