SC woman has charges dismissed after drug smuggling arrest, records show
UPDATE: The charges outlined in the below story were dismissed on April 19, 2021.
Original Story
A Columbia woman who worked as a nurse at a prison in Richland County was arrested for smuggling drugs to an inmate, the South Carolina Department of Corrections said.
Yvette Phillips, who was contracted to work at Kirkland Correctional Institution, was arrested Monday, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said in a news release. The prison is on Broad River Road in Columbia.
The 53-year-old used a black rubber glove to conceal oxycodone and Diazepam pills, and snuck them into the prison, according to the release.
The drugs were discovered Sunday during a shakedown of Phillips and a search of her possessions, according to an arrest warrant. Video surveillance was used in the decision to arrest Phillips, according to arrest warrants.
Phillips was charged with possession of oxycodone (a Schedule II controlled substance), possession of Diazepam (a Schedule IV controlled substance), and providing contraband to a prisoner.
Additionally, Phillips will not be allowed to work at for the Department of Corrections again, Shain said.
If convicted on the misdemeanor drug charges, Phillips faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine on each charge, according to South Carolina law.
The maximum sentence on the felony charge of providing contraband to a prisoner is 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, according to South Carolina law.
Information on any charges filed against any inmates was not made available by the Department of Corrections.
Kirkland is a men’s only maximum-security prison that houses more than 1,400 inmates, according to the Department of Corrections. Like other Level 3 prisons in South Carolina, Kirkland is “designed primarily to house violent offenders with longer sentences, and inmates who exhibit behavioral problems,” the Department of Corrections said.
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This story was originally published December 22, 2020 at 12:05 PM.
