.
Murphy – It is common knowledge that jailhouse calls are not private communications.
However, a romantic couple ignored conventional wisdom last week while openly discussing an apparent drug transaction on the Cherokee County Detention Center’s video visitation service.
The blatant communication exposed a drug-smuggling operation and ensnared a woman employed by an independent contractor that provides food services for the jail.
“There are drug traffickers who want to continue their enterprise while they are in jail,” Sheriff Derrick Palmer said. “They’ll call people and set up deals, and we have it all recorded.”
Andrea Keen Charles, a 53-year-old Murphy resident employed by Skillet Kitchen, is charged with possession of a controlled substance in jail and providing contraband to inmates. Meanwhile, 39-year-old Marcia Elaine Weeks – who has been incarcerated for the last month – received another drug possession charge to go along with the cocaine possession and heroin trafficking offenses that landed her in jail on March 22.
“We’re going to indict her on a conspiracy,” Chief Deputy Joe Wood said.
Another accomplice remains on the run, as deputies continue to randomly search jail cells and question inmates in an effort to thwart future drug-smuggling attempts.
“They know how to smuggle things into the jail,” Palmer said.
“They’ll either use body cavities or find other ways.”
Jail officials uncovered the drug-smuggling scheme when they intercepted a video call between Weeks and her boyfriend on the evening of April 19. During the call, which was reviewed by the Cherokee Scout, they discuss a cell search that occurred the night before.
“You got a rat in the pile,” the man says to Weeks.
“Yeah, we do; it’s OK,” she
replies. “I got around that.”
The man then asks Weeks whether she needs anything, and she responds by showing him a piece of paper with a phone number written on it. After he says he cannot clearly see the note, she reads the number aloud to him over the phone.
Weeks then tells the man she needs antibiotics and Tylenol PM. After he questions whether jail staff will let her possess Tylenol PM, Weeks says, “Just listen to me real quick.” She seems to suggest that the medication she is requesting is actually code for other contraband.
The man then asks, “What am I doing with this number; are they bringing it to you or what?”
To which Weeks replies, “Too much, too much. Uh, yeah, they are. She knows that it’s antibiotics, and I need them. She works here.”
Weeks then reiterates her order and tells her boyfriend to include “the little ones” in the package.
“But nothing else,” she says. “Just go to Subway.”
Officials believe Weeks informed the man to not include hard drugs such as meth or heroin, which could cause an overdose and trigger an investigation.
“We don’t know which pills meant what, except for Subway, which is Suboxone,” Palmer said. “Even if they were bringing in Baby Aspirin, it’s illegal to smuggle contraband into the facility.”
Before changing the conversation, the man asks Weeks what time would be best to call the number she gave him, to which she replies, “Tomorrow night when she gets off work.”
“OK, I can plan on that,” he said.
Authorities say Charles managed to sneak the drugs into the jail during the time it took to trace the number and determine who was helping Weeks. Jail staff searched the facility again on April 21 and found some Suboxone pills.
Officials say Weeks was a jail trustee who cleaned laundry and worked in the kitchen, where they believe she befriended Charles, who more than likely received some type of kickback for risking her freedom to smuggle drugs into the facility.
Shortly after her arrest, Charles posted 10 percent of a $10,000 bond. It’s unclear whether she remains employed by Skillet Kitchen, as the company has not responded to messages. Skillet Kitchen’s parent company is Kimble’s Food By Design.
“I am extremely proud of our jail staff and our narcotics detectives,” Wood said.
“They worked together on a rapidly evolving case and were able to reach a successful conclusion.”