Two S.C. corrections officers arrested on contraband charges

The Department of Corrections announced the arrest of two of their own on Thursday for separate incidents in which each corrections officer is accused of bringing contraband into a prison.

James Randall Corder, of Chester, is facing charges of misconduct in office and possession of contraband, for allegedly bringing in a pound of tobacco on Oct. 31 into the Catawba Pre-Release Center in York County, according to the arrest warrant. He was arrested on Thursday.

The pre-release center is a minimum security facility that rehabilitates inmates by providing them with work for when they’re released. Corder had been with the agency since July 2014.

In a separate incident, Monica Benita Wright, of Ladson, was charged with possession of contraband, after officers found on Wednesday a “clear plastic bottle containing a brown substance having the odor of alcohol” in a clear, plastic hand bag that was in her possession, the warrant said.

Wright was assigned to Lieber Correctional Institution, a maximum security prison in Ridgeville. Wright has been with the agency in August 2014. She was arrested on Wednesday.

This story was originally published January 19, 2017 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Two S.C. corrections officers arrested on contraband charges."