Washington County Couple Employed Young Daughter in Jail Contraband Smuggling Scheme

A couple in neighboring Washington County reportedly used their juvenile daughter’s messages to her jailed father to smuggle drugs to him while incarcerated; that according to charges filed after an investigation by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force.

Washington County Sheriff’s Detective Lieutenant Tim Kemps reported that 42-year-old Ryan Paxton and his 33-year-old girlfriend Stephanie Doll, both of the City of Hartford, are now both charged in Washington County Circuit Court on felony charges of smuggling illegal contraband into the Washington County Jail.

According to a release by the Sheriff, the investigation began this past February after an inmate at the Washington County Jail had jumped off the top railing of the second floor of his jail pod, suffering severe injuries.  The inmate was rendered first aid immediately and was able to fully recover from his injuries, and testified that it was a drug infused into a piece of paper that caused him to jump.

The following investigation revealed that Paxton, an inmate at the time, had given the other inmate a piece of paper laced with synthetic cannabinoids commonly known as “K2”, or “Spice” – a controlled substance in Wisconsin – which was detected after analysis at the Wisconsin Crime Lab.

The associated investigation revealed that Doll would have her daughter draw pictures and write letters on the adulterated paper and include those with family photos to disguise them as normal correspondence, mailing them to inmate Paxton.  After learning that a second delivery was expected, it was intercepted.   Because the drug in that sample was altered at a molecular level from the original scheduled drug, it was not yet listed as a controlled substance in Wisconsin, but was able to support the case against the couple.

Following this incident, Washington County Sheriff Martin Shulthies has implemented new procedures and tactics in which mail is screened and scanned.  Inmates receive the scan, and the original mail is safely destroyed.