Former guard at Bucks County jail smuggled Suboxone in for inmates, DA says

A former guard at the Bucks County Correctional Facility was arrested this week after investigators discovered he had been helping inmates smuggle Suboxone strips into the jail, both for profit and to help support his own drug habit, authorities said.

Anthony Miller, 28, has been charged with providing controlled substance contraband to confined persons, possession with intent to deliver, and related offenses. He was released from custody Friday morning after posting $150,000 bond, court records show. There was no indication he had hired an attorney, and he could not be reached for comment.

A confidential informant contacted county detectives in September, saying they had evidence that Miller, of Quakertown, was bringing Suboxone into the jail, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest.

Detectives learned that Miller had set up a deal to bring 100 strips of the synthetic opioid into the jail this week for an inmate who had agreed to pay Miller $5,000, the affidavit said.

Working with an undercover officer, the detectives staged a meeting with Miller on Tuesday, posing as the Suboxone dealer. Miller was taken into custody shortly after.

During an interview, Miller told investigators he had planned on taking 10 of the Suboxone strips for himself, the affidavit said. He admitted he had smuggled the drug into the facility multiple times since February 2020, the document said.

District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said in a statement that Miller’s arrest underscored the importance of the county’s Drug Strike Task Force.

“This defendant has committed an extraordinary breach of public trust, because our prison guards are supposed to keep drugs out of the jail they’re guarding, rather than purchasing drugs to bring into it,” he said.

Miller is the second corrections officer at the jail to face such allegations in a year.

Last June, Joseph Jennings, 32, was arrested after investigators uncovered a Subxone-smuggling ring he helped run at the jail that brought in sometimes as many as 100 strips at a time.

Jennings’ criminal case is pending.