2 Philly correctional officers charged with smuggling drugs, cell phones into prison
Roderick Price, 41, and Christina Ingram, 23, are accused of smuggling contraband in exchange for payments from inmates or family members.
Two Philadelphia correctional officers have been charged with running separate smuggling operations to sell drugs and cell phones to inmates at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, District Attorney Larry Krasner announced Tuesday.
Roderick Price, 41, and Christina Ingram, 23, were each charged with corruption and conspiracy and other offenses related to the alleged smuggling, which they allegedly ran independently of one another.
“They both had their own thing going. They had separate operations,” Krasner said at a news conference.
Assistant District Attorney Joseph Lanuti said the two cases stem from a shooting and kidnapping investigation that led to the discovery that inmates were illegally obtaining contraband in the prison.
Investigators discovered that the inmates were receiving cell phones, charging cords, in-ear headphones, and narcotics, and that the two correctional officers were paid by inmates or their families with cash or digital payments.
Price, who has been a correctional officer since 2006, and Ingram, who started in 2023, are accused of smuggling Suboxone, a medicine used to treat people suffering from opioid addiction, into the prison.
“These correctional officers were helping to fuel a market within the Philadelphia jails for cell phones and narcotics. This poses a danger to inmates, correctional officers, and the community at large,” Lanuti said.
“Unfortunately, we have seen instances where inmates will use contraband cell phones to intimidate and contact victims and witnesses of crimes. They will also use these cell phones to communicate with other co-conspirators outside of the jail,” Lanuti said.
Michael Resnick, commissioner of the city Department of Prisons, said the alleged smuggling operations undermined the security and integrity of the prison system and threatened the safety of staff and inmates.
“While we need more correctional officers, we need officers with integrity who will uphold the law and their oath,” Resnick said.
Philadelphia jails have faced critical staffing shortages, and in August a federal judge ordered the city to pay $25 million into a dedicated fund and to take urgent action to address the situation.
The order came after U.S. District Judge Gerald A. McHugh found the city in contempt of its 2022 settlement agreement in a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of incarcerated people over inhumane conditions at the jails.