Seven Lewis County Jail inmates are facing drug possession charges after an inmate booked into the jail on Wednesday allegedly snuck meth, marijuana and tobacco into the jail and distributed it to other inmates.
Corrections deputies reportedly asked the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office to have its K9, Kimbo, who is trained and certified to detect heroin, cocaine and meth, search the C1 unit of the jail after a corrections deputy reported seeing seven inmates using drugs near an inmate’s bunk.
Those inmates have been identified as Paul Hickman, 58; Andrew Anthony Mosteller, 31; David Andrew Gallagher, 56; Ryan Lewis Croker, 21; Michael Justin Thorson, 45; Michael Edward Caton, 40; and Gregory Steven Schroeder, 38.
K9 Kimbo reportedly alerted on a lower bunk inside one of the cells in the unit where deputies found “a clear bag rolled up with what appeared to multiple small clear bags and the fingertips of some blue latex gloves with unknown substances in them,” as well as some matches, according to court documents.
Testing determined that the substances were approximately 2.1 grams of meth, 2.4 grams of marijana and tobacco.
K9 Kimbo also alerted on a “rolled up piece of paper which was suspected to be used by the inmates to snort the drugs,” according to court documents. “A small crystal substance,” that was later field tested positive for the presence of meth, reportedly fell out of the paper onto a table when deputies examined it.
Surveillance video from the jail reportedly shows the seven inmates sitting at a table next to Hickman’s bunk and shows Hickman “lean back and place something under the bed near the wall as corrections deputies entered to perform a search,” according to court documents.
The bunk where deputies located the bag of drugs was assigned to Hickman at the time. Hickman reportedly had three matches in his shirt pocket when deputies searched him, but denied the matches belonged to him, according to court documents.
Investigators noted that “Hickman had just come into custody after being remanded to the jail from court,” while “the other inmates involved had all been in the jail for a much longer period.”
When questioned, the other six inmates allegedly “either refused to discuss the matter or would not name the person who brought the drugs in,” according to court documents.
Hickman, Mosteller, Gallagher, Croker, Thorson, Caton and Schroeder were each charged Friday, Sept. 6, with one count of possession of a controlled substance while in a county or local correctional facility. Hickman was also charged with one count of second-degree introducing contraband.
Hickman’s bail was set at $25,000 “based on the nature of the offense, the havoc that it’s caused, and bringing other people into criminal activity,” Judge J. Andrew Toynbee said Friday.
Bail for the other six defendants was set at $10,000.
Arraignment hearings are scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 12.
