WAYCROSS, Ga. – A former corrections officer at the D. Ray James Correctional Institution in Folkston pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge of attempting to provide contraband to an inmate.
D. Ray James is a private corrections facility that houses federal inmates.
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The charge against 25-year-old Ryan Felch, of St. George, resulted from a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Marshals Service, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
During the guilty plea hearing, the evidence showed that Felch negotiated with a DEA confidential informant to provide two ounces of crack cocaine to an inmate at the facility in exchange for $1,250. Felch was arrested following a successful covert sting operation directed by the investigating agencies.
"The smuggling of drugs and other contraband into a prison facility seriously undermines good order and security, and places other at risk of injury," U.S. Attorney Edward Tarver said. "There is no excuse for this defendant's conduct. He was motivated solely by greed, and now he will take his new role as a convicted felon."
Felch faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he's sentenced.