Kiss lands charges for woman accused of passing drugs to inmate

A Philadelphia woman who is facing felony contraband charges for passing a drug-filled balloon to a Houtzdale state prison inmate when they kissed failed to appear for her preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court in Clearfield County.

A hearing was held in the absence of Serena Jasmine Simmons, 24, with all charges sent on to the court of common pleas for further disposition by District Judge Jerome Nevling. However, Simmons later contacted Nevling and met with him to be arraigned.

Simmons is also charged with a felony count of manufacture/delivery/possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, and misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, Simmons was visiting with an inmate on Dec. 23, when a corrections officer reportedly saw them kiss for an extended period of time. The officer then noticed the inmate swallowing before taking a drink. Two officers terminated the visit and placed the inmate in restraints.

Simmons allegedly admitted she had a balloon that contained “loud” or high-potency marijuana in her mouth and the inmate took it when they kissed. When asked if she had any other contraband on her, she pulled four additional balloons from her pocket, police said. The substance in the balloons reportedly tested positive for synthetic marijuana.

In her interview with police, she said the inmate, who is her boyfriend, had been asking her to bring drugs to him for several months. She told him no, until recently when she started to have financial problems, according to the complaint. The inmate said he would help her financially if she provided the drugs, she reportedly told police. She stated that this was the first time she ever brought drugs with her to the prison.

This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Kiss lands charges for woman accused of passing drugs to inmate."