Two correctional officers from the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility were arrested Tuesday for allegedly smuggling contraband into the jail, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced at a press conference.
Roderick Price, a corrections officer since 2006, and Christina Ingram, hired in 2023, are accused of smuggling cell phones and packets of Suboxone — a medication for opioid use disorder – into the facility for profit, according to Assistant District Attorney Joe Lanuti.
The two acted independently, prosecutors said. Both face charges including corrupt organization, criminal conspiracy, dealing in illegal proceeds, and possession with intent to deliver.
The investigation, led by the city’s Gun Violence Task Force (GVTF) and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), began after a cell phone was discovered on someone in custody for gun and kidnapping charges by ATF special agent Timothy Hartman, according to Lanuti.
Lanuti said that corrections officers received cash or digital payments from incarcerated people and their families to smuggle cell phones, chargers, AirPods, and narcotics into the jail. The items were then sold for profit inside the facility, he added.
“We have seen instances where inmates will use contraband cell phones to intimidate and contact victims and witnesses of crimes,” Lanuti said. “They will also use these cellphones to communicate with other co-conspirators outside of the jail.”
Bill Fritze, who supervises the GVTF, emphasized the task force’s commitment to ongoing investigations inside Philly jails.
“If you’ve been arrested for gun violence, we’re going to watch you while you’re in custody,” Fritze said. “And if we uncover other crimes, we’re going to charge you with those crimes.”
Prisons Commissioner Michael Resnick said his department will continue efforts to uncover more of this type of activity and is working to ensure people involved are prosecuted, particularly correctional officers who “betray the public’s trust.”
Broader concerns about Philly jails
The arrests come as Philadelphia jails face increased scrutiny over staffing shortages, healthcare delays, and unsafe conditions.
Last week, a 41-year-old man died allegedly next to drug paraphernalia at the Police Detention Unit after a narcotics possession arrest in Kensington. In September, 31-year-old Amanda Cahill died inside Curran-Fromhold after a similar arrest in Kensington.
Since 2018, at least 26 people have died in Philadelphia’s jails from drug-related incidents, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer analysis.
Others have died of alleged medical neglect.
The family of Louis Jung Jr., 50, who died in 2023 of Diabetic Ketoacidosis at Curran-Fromhold, is suing the city and its prison healthcare provider, YesCare, for alleged wrongful death and medical neglect. Another family is also suing the city over the death of 22-year-old Rahsaan Chambers, who died while incarcerated at Curran-Fromhold.
In August, a federal judge ordered the city to pay $25 million and address jail staffing shortages, citing violations of a 2022 settlement over "horrendous" conditions.
Noah Barth, prison monitoring coordinator for the Pennsylvania Prison Society, criticized the focus on scanning mail for contraband while drugs continue entering facilities through other means.
“This is done supposedly to stop the flow of exactly this contraband, yet there is no reported information on the effort's effectiveness,” he said. “In other words, we know that drugs are still getting into the prisons – this is one example of how."
Although Barth said incarcerated individuals often wait weeks or months for medical care, he dismissed the notion that Suboxone smuggling reflected a treatment gap, calling it a “crime of profit, convenience, and predation.”
Resnick pointed to the department’s overdose prevention program, which connects incarcerated individuals with medications for opioid use disorder, as a “national model.”
“I don't think other jurisdictions do it as well as we do,” he said.
Resnick acknowledged a need for more correctional staff, but described the prison system’s healthcare unit as having “a functional vacancy rate.”
When asked whether he was concerned more correctional officers could be selling drugs inside the city’s jails, Krasner acknowledged concerns.
“Yes, I am concerned,” Krasner said. “I think everybody should be concerned in every jurisdiction about that issue.”
There have been 67 arrests for drug possession in Philadelphia jails in 2024, according to the DAO’s public data dashboard.
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