A probationer who smuggled drugs into the Riverside County jail system, where inmates sold the contraband, pleaded guilty Friday to possession of controlled substances in a correctional facility and was immediately sentenced to a year of felony probation and three weeks in a county lockup.
Chantelle A. Neal, 33, of Riverside admitted the felony count under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. A related misdemeanor charge was dismissed in exchange for her admission, which came just as her case was called for a preliminary hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
Superior Court Judge John Monterosso certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the stipulated sentence.
In December, Neal’s co-defendant, 31-year-old Shaun Manuel Adamson of Fontana, pleaded guilty to transportation of controlled substances into a correctional facility and probation violations. He received a sentence of 18 months’ mandatory supervision.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Rustad, the Corrections Investigations Bureau initiated a probe in June after uncovering evidence of a trafficking ring within the correctional system.
Deputies at the Byrd Detention Center seized methamphetamine, which resulted in the identification of the traffickers, Rustad said.
Adamson was confirmed to be the supplier, conspiring with 40-year-old Eric Wesley Johnson of Fontana, 38-year-old Violeta Lopez of Pomona and 34-year-old Rigoberto Plasencia of Riverside, Rustad alleged.
Search warrants were obtained and served at properties in early December, netting “2.5 pounds of fentanyl, 3.5 ounces of methamphetamine, 2.5 ounces of cocaine, a semiautomatic handgun, .75 grams of heroin and $5,000 believed to be proceeds from narcotic sales,” the sergeant said.
Plasencia was transported to state prison for a felony conviction that occurred before the investigation concluded, according to the sheriff’s department. No charges were filed against him.
Johnson was arrested on suspicion of possession of controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia, but he posted a $10,000 bond and was released from the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on Dec. 10.
Lopez was arrested on suspicion of possession of controlled substances, but she posted a $5,000 bond and was also released form the Smith jail on Dec. 10.
It was unclear whether authorities intended to file charges against the pair.
“This investigation was part of the sheriff’s office’s ongoing mission to prevent narcotics from entering our correctional facilities,” Rustad said. “The diligence of our deputies during searches, implementation of the non-intrusive sensor … and comprehensive criminal investigations such as this are among measures the sheriff’s office has taken to combat the supply of narcotics into our jail system.”
Neal had a prior misdemeanor conviction for being an accessory to a crime, for which she was on probation when she was taken into custody last year.
Adamson’s priors included felony evading and identity theft.
No information was available regarding the others.