An employee of the private company that provides medical care to inmates at the Hamilton County Justice Center smuggled marijuana into the facility, court documents say.
Tiffani Walker, 54, is charged with a single count of illegal conveyance of drugs into a detention facility. The felony charge is punishable by up to three years in prison.
Officials said Walker was a contracted employee of NaphCare.
According to court documents, on March 29, Walker brought nearly 5 grams of marijuana concealed inside a latex glove into the jail. The marijuana was later given to an inmate.
Walker was arrested April 1, and a judge the next day set her bond at $10,000.
In a statement, a NaphCare spokeswoman said: “As a healthcare provider in correctional institutions, NaphCare strictly forbids contraband. We have a zero tolerance policy for employees introducing contraband into a facility and have taken appropriate actions in response.”
An attorney for Walker did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
“This behavior will absolutely not be tolerated,” Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said in a statement. “And this arrest is evidence of that commitment. Ms. Walker will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
NaphCare is at the center of a lawsuit filed in March surrounding the death of an inmate – who according to attorneys for his family was experiencing severe fentanyl withdrawal and didn’t get urgent medical care when he needed it.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Worker accused of smuggling marijuana into Hamilton County jail
Reporting by Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
