JESSUP, Md. — Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced December 2, 2025, that ten individuals — including three Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services employees and seven incarcerated persons at Jessup Correctional Institution — have been indicted in three separate contraband smuggling conspiracies.
The indictments stem from a joint investigation by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Unit and DPSCS Intelligence and Investigative Division.
“We trust correctional staff to keep prisons safe – not smuggle contraband to the people they supervise,” Brown said. “Our Office will always prosecute public servants who abuse their positions and undermine prison safety.”
DPSCS Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs said the department holds employees to the highest standards and immediately suspends any staff member charged with misconduct pending disciplinary proceedings.
The largest scheme involved Correctional Officer Sergeant Awungjia Rita Atabong, 39, of Laurel, a 13-year veteran. Prosecutors allege Atabong repeatedly smuggled drugs into JCI after meeting associates outside the facility and communicating with inmates via contraband cell phones. She is also accused of tipping off an inmate about an active DPSCS contraband interdiction operation.
On July 14, 2025, investigators executing a search warrant at Atabong’s Anne Arundel County home seized 200 pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine, 7,911 pills containing MDMA and methamphetamine, 733 strips of buprenorphine, 78 grams of cannabis, 55 grams of THC-9, 54 grams of psilocin, tobacco, cell phones, and related items packaged for delivery into the prison.
Atabong faces a 40-count indictment. Four incarcerated co-conspirators — Michael Cates, 33; Tavon Williams, 41; Tyrell Smith, 36; and James Gilyard IV, 36 — each face multiple counts including contraband conspiracy and illegal possession of telecommunications devices.
In a second conspiracy, correctional educator Lakesha Murry, 49, of Middle River, allegedly smuggled drugs, food, cigarettes, and synthetic cannabis into JCI classrooms in exchange for cash and luxury items, including a Gucci bag. Security footage showed Murry kissing one incarcerated student. On June 9, 2025, she allegedly passed cigarettes and synthetic-cannabis-soaked paper to inmate Kevin Glover, 46.
Murry faces 15 counts. Co-defendants Allen Mitchell, 39, and Glover each face multiple charges.
In the third case, Correctional Officer Kathyrn Hawes, 29, of Laurel, is charged with maintaining an inappropriate relationship with inmate Artemis Booker, 50, and smuggling items including a watch, tobacco, and a flash drive. When arrested at JCI, Hawes was allegedly carrying additional contraband on her person.
Hawes faces three counts; Booker faces seven.
All three DPSCS employees — Atabong, Murry, and Hawes — have been released on their own recognizance. The seven incarcerated defendants remain in custody serving prior sentences.
The cases are filed in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court. A criminal indictment is an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Jessup Correctional Institution, a maximum-security men’s prison in Jessup, houses approximately 1,100 inmates and employs hundreds of correctional staff. It is one of three major facilities in the Jessup prison complex operated by DPSCS.