CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) — An ACI employee and three prison inmates have been charged in connection with a scheme to smuggle a cell phone into the prison, according to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha.
Inesa Vinarskaya, 60, was arrested last August for passing a cell phone to an inmate while working as a contracted speech pathologist.
Neronha said one of Vinarskaya’s patients, 26-year-old Fredrick Dahn, paid her $1,200 to smuggle the phone into the prison.
Dahn then let another inmate, 31-year-old Sequoya Reels-Felder, use the phone, who in turn shared the device with his cellmate, 30-year-old Darrell Johnson.
An investigation was launched after correctional officers noticed “suspicious activity” among the inmates, according to a Rhode Island Department of Corrections spokesperson.
Neronha said Johnson and Reels-Felder were apprehended after they were caught attempting to flush the cell phone down the toilet.
Vinarskaya, Dahn, Reels-Felder and Johnson are facing numerous charges, including conveying a cell phone into the ACI, soliciting another to convey a cell phone into the ACI, possessing a cell phone while incarcerated and conspiracy.
Customize Your Notifications: Choose which 12 News topics you want to be alerted about »
