An officer from the Department of Corrections and a woman were both charged with trying to smuggle methamphetamine into the prison in Susupe on March 24.
Corrections officer Cleon Reyes Pacho, 20, and Regina Camacho Bowie, 37, were each charged with one count of promoting major or minor contraband, an offense punishable by up to four years in prison, a fine of up to $1,500, or both.
According to the complaint, Department of Public Safety investigators and DOC Internal Affairs officers launched a surveillance operation after receiving a tip that drugs and other contraband would be smuggled into the facility.
During the operation, investigators observed a red Toyota Corolla pull into the northern employee parking lot of the prison. Pacho was seen walking toward the vehicle. A woman—later identified as Bowie—stepped out of the front passenger seat and handed him a plastic bag.
Pacho brought the bag inside the facility, where DOC officers searched it and found zip‑lock bags containing a green leafy substance and a crystalline substance, along with barbecue sticks, sodas, smokeless tobacco, and lighters. The crystalline substance later tested positive for methamphetamine.
Bowie later told investigators her boyfriend instructed her to meet a corrections officer and hand over the bag, which she believed contained barbecue sticks, sodas, and coffee.
Pacho told investigators he received a call from a woman asking to speak to an inmate and later requesting that he pick up food for the inmate. He said he asked another officer to cover mini control while he stepped out to retrieve the items, intending to bring them to main control. He said he walked outside, saw a woman exit a vehicle, and accepted the bag without conversation. As he returned inside, he said he was stopped and searched. Pacho claimed he did not know what was inside the bag and intended to bring it to his commander.
Pacho and Bowie appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo for a bail hearing on March 27, where they were both remanded back to the custody of the Department of Corrections.
