A Lewis County Jail inmate accused of sneaking meth into the jail by concealing it in his rectum and then selling the meth to other inmates is now facing felony charges.
Following an Aug. 6 investigation into “rumors that tank C1 possibly had methamphetamine inside that inmates were using,” Justin Wayne Ruelos, 50, was charged Aug. 8 in Lewis County Superior Court with one count each of delivery of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance while in a county or local correctional facility and second-degree introducing contraband.
According to interviews with Lewis County Jail inmates, Ruelos allegedly “‘keistered’ two blue balloons of methamphetamine” when he was remanded into custody on unrelated Lewis County District Court charges on July 23.
Ruelos allegedly shared a portion of the meth with people in his tank, “but after that first portion, anyone wanting further methamphetamine had to make a ‘street to street’ connection,” meaning one of the purchaser’s friends or relatives out of custody had to pay one of Ruelos’ friends or family, according to court documents.
After bringing it into the jail, Ruelos allegedly “evaded law enforcement by packing the methamphetamine with Cheetos or some type of chip,” according to court documents.
Jail personnel had reportedly searched the C1 tank with a K9, with no success, before a Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputy was brought in to investigate.
Jail staff did find “two pieces of green notebook paper … with a white residue on them” in one inmate's cell and learned “there was some (meth) in a rolled up piece of paper inside a military-style book missing a back cover,” according to court documents.
When searching Ruelos’ cell, a deputy reportedly “located a plastic soap dish that appeared to have methamphetamine inside it,” according to court documents.
Ruelos’ bail is set at $20,000 for the Lewis County Superior Court case. He is also being held on $30,000 bail for the unrelated Lewis County District Court charges, meaning Ruelos would have to post a total bail of $50,000 to be released from custody.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 15.
