Prison guards in South Carolina keep getting arrested. Here’s what to know
A string of recent cases in South Carolina has put prison guards behind bars on charges ranging from accepting inmate bribes to smuggling drugs and even secretly marrying a prisoner. The cases span state and federal facilities and have led to firings, indictments and convictions.
Here are key takeaways:
- Two South Carolina correctional officers, Allyssa Jasso and Laura Leigh Patterson, were recently arrested on charges they accepted thousands of dollars in bribes from inmates at separate state prisons.
- Jasso, 29, of Columbia, faces nine counts of bribery after receiving $2,500 in four payments from an inmate using a contraband cellphone between Feb. 21 and Feb. 25, 2025, while she worked at Manning Reentry/Work Release Center.
- Patterson, 32, of Kingstree, is accused of receiving $18,743 from or on behalf of an inmate at Turbeville Correctional Institution between May 1, 2020, and Dec. 1, 2021, and was also charged with securities fraud.
- Two former Lee Correctional Institution guards, Niccole Matthews Al-Saddiq and Candace Elizabeth Smith, were indicted for misconduct in office, with Al-Saddiq accused of secretly “marrying” an inmate under her supervision.
- Both Lee Correctional guards are also accused of aiding and abetting the smuggling of dangerous contraband into the prison as part of an investigation called “Clean Sweep.”
- In a federal case, former Federal Correctional Institution Williamsburg officer Angela Crosland, 51, of Elgin, was convicted of bribery, money laundering and distributing methamphetamine and suboxone inside the Salters prison.
- Crosland received $56,791 over about nine months through Cash App payments from family and associates of inmates in exchange for smuggling drugs, K-2-soaked paper, marijuana, tobacco and other items, and failed to report the income on her federal tax returns.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.
Noah Feit
The State