Rockview corrections officer trainee charged, suspended after smuggling plot
A Rockview state prison corrections officer trainee was charged Thursday after investigators said he attempted to smuggle synthetic cannabis compounds and a prescribed opioid medicine into the prison for an inmate.
Owen L. Mason, 25, of Huntingdon County, was charged with four felonies and two misdemeanors. He was hired Dec. 2 and was suspended without pay March 27 pending the outcome of the investigation, a state Department of Corrections spokeswoman told the Centre Daily Times.
Four Benner Township state prison inmates and three civilians were also charged last week with attempting to smuggle synthetic cannabis compounds and suboxone into that prison.
Mason reported for his shift the day he was ultimately suspended and was selected for a scan that included the use of a K-9, a DOC investigator wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
A lieutenant found a thick piece of paper saturated in synthetic cannabis compounds and 40 films of suboxone in a bag, the investigator wrote. The agency said Mason admitted he was attempting to smuggle the contraband into the prison for an inmate.
In a recorded jailhouse phone call, investigators said Mason discussed the peer-to-peer payment service Cash App with a Rockview inmate. The DOC also said it uncovered text messages in which Mason conspired with a civilian.
He is to be arraigned Tuesday morning. No defense lawyer was listed.