Three people have been arrested and charged following the death of an employee at U.S. Penitentiary in Atwater, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported Tuesday.
Veteran correctional officer Marc Fischer died Aug. 9 after opening inmate mail and being exposed to a concoction of illegal drugs, federal investigators found.
Jamar Jones, a 35-year-old inmate at the low-security Atwater prison, along with an Indiana woman and Missouri man, is charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Jones’ two conspirators, 35-year old Stephanie Ferreira and 37-year-old Jermen Rudd III are charged with introducing narcotic drugs to an inmate.
Fischer fell ill within minutes of opening a letter to Jones. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. Fischer was a U.S. Coast Guard veteran and worked as a correctional officer at the Atwater prison for over 20 years, according to a statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Another prison employee also was exposed to the drug-laced letter and fell ill but later recovered.
According to the criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of U.S. District Court, Ferreira, who was not incarcerated, is Jones’ romantic partner.
During multiple recorded prison phone calls in July, Jones, whose nickname is “Gutta Gambino,” used coded language and instructed Ferriera to send him drugs in the mail and discussed profit sharing.
Ferriera allegedly had Rudd visit a post office and send a certified letter through U.S. mail with a return address for a law firm and a stamp indicating it was legal mail so it wouldn’t be inspected as thoroughly by prison staff.
Prison records indicate Jones received the letter July 25. After that, he instructed Ferreira to meet with Rudd and send more mail laced with drugs.
Investigators obtained surveillance footage that showed Rudd visited the same post office on Aug. 6 and sent another letter to Jones disguised as legal mail.
At the prison in Atwater, Fischer and the other correctional officer opened the letter in front of Jones, the complaint says. Inside the mail were five pieces of wet or waxy paper with print on it. Fischer and his colleague put on gloves and began to photocopy the contents of the letter to give to Jones, who demanded he receive the original contents of the letter. The correctional officers declined.
Within five minutes, Fischer and his coworker began to feel unwell, but Fischer’s symptoms were more serious. Fischer died less than an hour after being exposed to the letter’s contents, according to the complaint.
The letter later was tested for drugs and tested positive for amphetamines, fentanyl, and synthetic cannabinoids known as “spice”, among other substances.
Jones has a long history of drug offenses. He’s currently serving a sentence for drug distribution and has at least five other arrests and felonies for possessing and selling drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine. He also was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in a shooting, the complaint says.
If convicted, Jones faces a maximum sentence of decades in prison and hundreds of thousands in fines.
Ferreira and Rudd also have criminal histories and both face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.
Ferreira is set to be arraigned in Indiana federal court, while Rudd will be arraigned in Missouri. Jones will appear next week in federal court in Fresno.