Maryland Correctional Institution - Jessup

By Zak Failla From Daily Voice

Maryland’s top prosecutor says three separate contraband pipelines were running inside Jessup Correctional Institution (JCI), and investigators say they were powered by the very people who were supposed to keep the place secure.

Attorney General Anthony Brown announced Monday, Dec. 1, that 10 people have been indicted in connection with three different smuggling schemes at the Anne Arundel County facility. 

The investigation was led by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Unit and the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

“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.”

In one conspiracy, prosecutors say Correctional Officer Sgt. Awungjia Rita Atabong, a 13-year veteran, was repeatedly meeting up with associates acting on behalf of prisoners, collecting packages of contraband, and smuggling the items into JCI.

Investigators say she used inmates’ contraband cell phones to coordinate the drops and was paid thousands of dollars.

In one moment described by prosecutors as particularly egregious, Atabong tipped off an incarcerated individual that DPSCS’s contraband interdiction team was conducting an active operation.

A search warrant executed at her Anne Arundel County home in July turned up what investigators described as a large amount of contraband packaged to be smuggled into the prison. 

Among the items seized were:

  • 200 pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine;
  • A bag with 19.65 grams of 3,4-methylenedioxy-α-cyclohexylaminopropiophenone; 
  • 7,911 pills containing MDMA and methamphetamine; 
  • 78 grams of cannabis; 55 grams of THC-9; 
  • 54 grams of psilocin; 
  • 733 strips of buprenorphine; 
  • Tobacco; 
  • Cell phones and chargers;
  • Rolling papers;
  • Lighters;
  • Other prohibited items.

Atabong, 39, of Laurel, is charged in a 40-count indictment, including misconduct in office, contraband conspiracy, possession of controlled dangerous substances with intent to distribute, and possession of contraband with intent to distribute. 

Four incarcerated individuals were also charged: 

  • Michael Cates, 33, in a nine-count indictment; 
  • Tavon Williams, 41, in a 10-count indictment;
  • Tyrell Smith, 36, in a nine-count indictment; 
  • James Gilyard IV, 36, in a six-count indictment. 

Their charges include contraband conspiracy and illegal possession of a telecommunications device in a place of confinement.

Another case centered on Correctional Educator Lakesha Murry, who investigators say smuggled drugs, food, and other items into JCI for incarcerated students in exchange for money and luxury items, including a Gucci bag. 

Prosecutors say she communicated with some students through a contraband cell phone, took specific requests, and hid items on her person before distributing them inside the classroom. 

Security cameras captured Murry kissing one of her incarcerated students at least once, according to the Attorney General’s Office. 

A search of inmate Allen Mitchell’s cell phone on April 21, 2025, revealed unauthorized food items. On June 9, 2025, Murry passed cigarettes and “five pieces of paper soaked with synthetic cannabis” to incarcerated student Kevin Glover in the JCI classroom.

Murry, 49, of Middle River, is charged in a 15-count indictment, including misconduct in office, contraband conspiracy, possession of CDS with intent to distribute, and delivering contraband. 

Mitchell, 39, is charged in a seven-count indictment, and Glover, 46, is charged in an eight-count indictment, including illegal possession of CDS and contraband in a place of confinement.

A third scheme involved Correctional Officer Kathryn Hawes, who prosecutors say was in an inappropriate relationship with an incarcerated individual, Artemis Booker. 

Investigators say Hawes coordinated with several incarcerated co-conspirators using their contraband cell phones and provided items like a watch, which she photographed and sent to Booker. 

When investigators searched Booker’s cell, they found the watch along with other contraband, including a flash drive and tobacco. When Hawes was arrested at JCI, officials say she was hiding additional contraband on her person.

Hawes, 29, of Laurel, is charged in a three-count indictment, including misconduct in office and contraband conspiracy. Booker, 50, is charged in a seven-count indictment that includes contraband conspiracy and illegal possession of a telecommunications device in a place of confinement.

Attorney General Brown noted that several incarcerated individuals were already charged back in September for contraband phones uncovered during the investigation. 

These latest cases are filed in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. Murry, Atabong, and Hawes have been released on their own recognizance, while the incarcerated defendants remain held as part of their ongoing sentences.

DPSCS Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs said the department “seeks to hold all State employees to the highest standards,” and that detectives moved quickly when the allegations surfaced. 

“Our detectives executed the arrests promptly,” she said, adding that any employee charged “will be suspended and will remain so throughout the disciplinary process.”