Baltimore, Maryland — A correctional officer sworn to uphold order inside one of Maryland’s most dangerous prisons instead fueled violence and chaos, helping orchestrate a stabbing and smuggling narcotics for cash. Rachelle Hankerson, 26, of Salisbury, Maryland, pleaded guilty this week to racketeering conspiracy and deprivation of rights under color of law for her role in a criminal enterprise at the Eastern Correctional Institution (ECI) in Westover. She admitted not only to smuggling contraband for profit but to directly enabling a brutal inmate attack that left a man bleeding in his cell.
Hankerson wasn’t working alone. Alongside her in guilty pleas are Ramel Chase, 34, of Glen Burnie, an inmate who ran a contraband network from behind bars, and Miguel Matos, 46, of Ft. Washington, the father of an inmate who funneled drugs and cash to keep the operation running. Together, they formed a corrupt triangle — one with a badge, one inside the cell block, and one operating freely outside — all profiting from chaos behind prison walls. Hankerson charged at least $500 per package to smuggle narcotics, cell phones, and tobacco into ECI, the largest state prison in Maryland.
The betrayal went further. Hankerson admitted she approached a Bloods gang member she’d previously smuggled for and demanded he confront inmate D.S. after a verbal dispute. She then twice allowed the inmate access to D.S.’s housing tier. The second time, he stormed into D.S.’s cell and stabbed him repeatedly. Another inmate reported the attack to Hankerson — and she did nothing. Instead of sounding an alarm, she fled the area and later instructed an inmate to lie to investigators, claiming she hadn’t been on the tier at all.
Chase, from his cell, bribed and attempted to bribe correctional officers to move contraband, managing a sprawling distribution ring inside ECI. Matos, outside the facility, sourced narcotics and passed them to smugglers, also handling financial transactions to launder profits. Wiretaps captured them all — discussing drop-offs, payments, and which COs could be bought. In one recorded call, Matos and his son casually discussed officers by name who were in their pocket, while others captured Matos instructing a supplier on how to package drugs for prison entry.
All three now face the full weight of federal justice. Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy. Hankerson alone faces an additional 10 years for depriving an inmate of his civil rights during the stabbing. U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar has set sentencing dates: January 17, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. for Chase; February 24, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. for Matos; and March 7, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. for Hankerson.
The investigation was a three-year effort initiated by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services under Secretary Stephen T. Moyer, who turned over internal resources to the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Maryland State Police. U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Maryland Prison Task Force, a joint federal-state initiative formed to dismantle systemic corruption, calling the guilty pleas a crack in a long-entrenched wall of institutional decay at ECI.
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Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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