An incident at Cayuga Correctional Facility involving a teen and contraband is being highlighted by NYSCOPBA, the union representing corrections officers.
The union said in a press release that a Buffalo mother and her 13-year-old daughter were at the Moravia facility on February 15 to visit an inmate when they attracted the attention of a K9 at the facility.
They were taken to separate rooms for questioning. NYSCOPBA said this is when the teen turned over three bundles from underneath her shirt containing 224 grams of a leafy substance later identified as marijuana.
The pair was taken to the state police barracks in Moravia. Both were charged with promoting prison contraband. The mother was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
The mother and daughter were issued appearance tickets for criminal and family court, respectively.
A similar incident happened on February 21 at Attica Correctional Facility when NYSCOPBA said a Bronx woman attempted to bypass a body scanner by using a six-year-old child who was exempt from the scan. She allegedly used the child to smuggle 124 grams of marijuana and a sheet of paper with an unknown substance on it into the prison before being stopped by a K9.
“This is not the first time adults have used children as drug mules to smuggle contraband into New York State prisons,” stated Kenny Gold, NYSCOPBA Western Region Vice President. “It’s a despicable act to involve a child in criminal activity. It underscores the lengths to which visitors and inmates will go to subvert the law. What’s even more troubling is that both women were allowed to go home without significant repercussions. This highlights the failure of criminal justice policies that prioritize criminals over the safety of law enforcement and the public. Incidents like these serve as a reminder of the ongoing efforts needed to ensure prison security and the safety of both security and civilian employees. The employees involved should be commended for their efforts, as they immediately took additional threats out of both facilities with their actions, and made it safer those days for the everyone that works [sic] and lives in those facilities.”
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
