JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Ten residents of Pennsylvania and Arizona have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Johnstown on charges of violating racketeering laws, including acts of bribery conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute various controlled substances, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
The two-count Indictment, returned on July 22 and unsealed today, named the following 10 individuals as defendants: Lakesha Stith, 45, of Johnstown, Pa.; Ashley Aguilar, 26, of Phoenix, Ariz.; Mikal Davis, 48, incarcerated at Indiana County Jail; James Johnson-Ross, 26, of Altoona, Pa.; Marcos Monarrez Jr., 26, incarcerated at FDC Philadelphia; Jessica Niebauer, 34, of Altoona, Pa; Monique Valencia, 29, of Phoenix, Ariz.; Blake Young, 36, incarcerated at SCI Laurel Highlands; Asiah Young-Atwell, 30, of Johnstown, Pa.; and Carlos Zamora, 29, incarcerated at Northeast Ohio Correctional Center.
According to the Indictment, from in and around July 2023, and continuing until on or about December 19, 2023, Stith, Davis, Johnson-Ross, Monarrez, Young, Young-Atwell, and Zamora conducted and participated in the affairs of an enterprise through racketeering activities inside the Cambria County Prison (CCP) in Cambria County, Pennsylvania. The Indictment alleges that Stith and Young-Atwell, who were employed as a correctional officer and medical staff nurse, respectively, at the facility, received bribes from inmate defendants Davis, Johnson-Ross, Monarrez, Young, and Zamora in exchange for bringing contraband – including controlled substances such as K2 (a Schedule 1 synthetic cannabinoid), Tetrahydrocannabinol (a Schedule 1 component in cannabis), and Suboxone, cellular phones, security tools, and cigarettes – into the prison.
Stith and Young-Atwell hid the contraband in lunch bags and containers in order to smuggle it through the prison’s screening system and then delivered the contraband items to various locations throughout the prison. These locations included the prison’s medical department, which contained private examination rooms without security cameras; numerous pre-arranged stash locations such as storage closets where inmates could later retrieve the hidden items; and the cells and housing units of inmate defendants, with some of whom Stith and Young-Atwell had engaged in personal/intimate relations and warned of planned cell searches as well as other inmates providing information to the prison administration regarding the contraband activity.
The inmate defendants used the contraband phones to coordinate smuggling and contraband trafficking with Stith, Young-Atwell, and individuals outside of the CCP (including Aguilar, Niebauer, and Valencia, each of whom are charged in a separate count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in relation to the racketeering activity) who facilitated their contraband trafficking activities. The inmates and co-conspirators also sold these phones and other contraband items to other CCP inmates at substantial profit, with an average price of $10,000 for cellular phones and from $75 up to $250 for Suboxone strips.
“It is extremely dangerous when individuals employed within our prison systems choose to abuse their authority at the expense of the safety and well-being of inmates they are charged with overseeing,” said Acting United States Attorney Rivetti. “Not only did the correctional officer and medical staff member in this case engage in inappropriate personal relations with inmates and accept bribes for sneaking contraband into the prison, which the defendant inmates then sold to others at a substantial profit, but they also provided confidential information about planned inmate cell searches and other internal security matters.
Working with our law enforcement partners, we will ensure that this criminal abuse of trust is prosecuted regardless of whether those committing the acts are in a position of authority or not,” Rivetti added.
The Indictment charges the defendants with the following crimes:
Lakesha Stith, bribery conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute various controlled substances.
Defendant Status: The case is ongoing and further information will be released as it becomes available.
Mandatory Facts:
1. Defendant/Respondent: Lakesha Stith
2. Exact Criminal Charges: bribery conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute various controlled substances
3. City and State: Johnstown, Pennsylvania
4. Exact Date: July 22, 2023
5. Sentence or Outcome: The case is ongoing and further information will be released as it becomes available
6. Dollar Amounts: An average price of $10,000 for cellular phones and from $75 up to $250 for Suboxone strips.
Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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