Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux announced on Monday what he called the largest employee drug bust in the history of Bristol County jail. A former employee at the Dartmouth House of Corrections and four co-conspirators were indicted by a grand jury as part of the investigation.
“It was an organized effort to bring the drugs into the jail and avoid detection while they're doing it,” Heroux said. “This was intentional. It wasn't an accident.”
Ginger Hook, a former librarian at the Dartmouth House of Correction, was indicted for allegedly sneaking synthetic marijuana into the jail. Joseph Housley, 25, who was convicted recently of murdering his father, allegedly sold the drugs with help from three other men outside.
Housley has not yet been arraigned. Hook and the others charged all pleaded not guilty.
The synthetic marijuana known as K-2 comes in paper form, and Heroux said Hook smuggled in sheets of it disguised as legal documents. Heroux claims that the contraband could have been sold for as much as $65,000 inside of the jail.
“What people might not realize is how much of a problem drugs are in a jail or prison setting,” Heroux said. “Sometimes inmates are pressuring each other for the drugs, and that can lead to violence. Other times, officers and other staff can be exposed to the drugs and that can be a health issue for them.”
Heroux went on to say that Hook had worked at the jail for about 18 months and that there are three suspected incidents of her allegedly bringing drugs into the jail.
“What makes this case unique is the volume of drugs that was brought in,” Heroux said, “$65,000 worth is a lot of money.”
The sheriff’s office plans to crack down on contraband drugs in its jails, Heroux said.
“There are a lot of different ways that we look to find drugs coming into the jail, and once they're in the jail, detecting them,” Heroux said. “We make a point not to talk about the tactics that we use, because we don't want the inmates to know how we go about that.”
