Third Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center jail guard in a week arrested, charged with misconduct
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department announced on Thursday the arrest of a guard at the county jail, making her the third detention center employee charged with misconduct in office in one week.
Donisha Grady has been accused of having inappropriate contact with an inmate after an investigation uncovered that she had roughly 65 phone calls with an inmate between June 2023 and January 2024, according to the sheriff’s department. All of the calls took place outside of shift hours.
Her arrest Thursday follows the arrests of detention center officers Amara Brown on Jan. 12 and Antiona Walker on Wednesday. Brown is accused of delivering a DoorDash meal to an inmate while Walker was allegedly smuggling cigarettes inside of bags of chips. Both were charged with misconduct in office and furnishing contraband to a prisoner.
Last year, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department announced the arrests of nine guards at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. The Richland County Administration did not respond to inquiries from The State Media Co. about the arrests.
An investigator at the sheriff’s department began looking into Grady after an employee at the jail alerted them that Grady might bringing in contraband into the facility and passing it over to detainees, according to an incident report. While there was not enough evidence at the time, jail staff listening to a monitored call heard someone they believed to be Grady. After reviewing the inmate’s call history on Jan. 5, jail staff provided seven recorded calls from a phone number believed to belong to Grady to the sheriff’s department investigator.
After reviewing the calls, the investigator identified a conversation where Grady allegedly discussed being out of work while sick with the flu as well as a planned vacation for a cruise. A review of Grady’s leave request form matched up with her conversation with the inmate, according to the incident report.
Staffing has long been identified as major problem at the troubled jail. In an announcement launching an investigation into the jail, the U.S. Department of Justice identified staffing as a leading “concern” that drove violence and a breakdown in conditions.
Last April, then-interim jail Director Crayman Harvey, who was appointed permanent director last August, identified a need to attract better staff in order to change the jail’s culture.
On Thursday, the sheriff’s department said that Grady would be processed and booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. Court records do not indicate whether bond has been set.