Missouri man allegedly sent drugs to California prison

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (First Alert 4) – A Missouri man and two others are accused of sending drugs to a California prison, resulting in the death of a correctional officer.

Jermen Rudd III, 37, of Wentzville, Jamar Jones, 35, an inmate at the U.S. Penitentiary at Atwater, and Stephanie Ferreira, 35, of Evansville, Indiana, are alleged to have conspired to bring narcotics into USP Atwater for Jones to sell. As part of the plot, Jones and Ferreira had Rudd send a narcotics-laced letter to Jones that was falsely marked as legitimate mail, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The alleged crimes occurred between July 15 and August 9.

On August 9, a correctional officer at USP Atwater opened the letter and began to feel ill. He was taken to the hospital and later died. Another correctional officer became ill after coming into contact with the drug-laced letter, but recovered.

Rudd, Jones and Ferreira are charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and furnishing narcotics to an inmate.

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