THE Department of Public Safety has released photos from security camera footage depicting the man who threw contraband into the correctional facility last week.
The suspect was described as “5’ to 5’8” tall, weighing about 180 lbs. to 200 lbs., medium-built, tan skinned with short wavy hair.” He was wearing a blue or turquoise shirt, a light brown camouflage jacket, dark-colored shorts and slippers.
DPS is requesting public assistance in identifying the individual.
Community members can call the Criminal Investigation Bureau at (670) 664-9042, the DPS Front desk at (670) 664-9001 or the Crime Stoppers hotline at (670) 234-7272 if they wish to remain anonymous.
According to Department of Corrections Commissioner Anthony Torres, on the day of the incident, at “approximately 9:39 a.m., a male individual was seen in the jungle, southside of the correctional facility, throwing an object over [the] DOC fence into the DOC basketball court while inmates were in recreational [time].”
Torres said they retrieved the contraband, which he did not identify.
Public Law 23-7, the new anti-contraband law, defines a “major contraband” as “any firearm, ammunition, explosives or combustibles any plans or materials that could be used in the making or manufacturing of such weapons, explosives or devices; any dangerous device or dangerous weapon; anything that is designed or intended to be used to facilitate escape from a correctional facility or an outside assignment; marijuana or a controlled substance in schedule I, II, III, or IV, as defined in 6 CMC Chapter 1 (Commonwealth Controlled Substances Act); and any telecommunications device, including any electronic device or apparatus associated with a device, that can enable communication with a person outside of a correctional facility.”
A major contraband also includes, “without limitation, a telephone, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, a transmitting radio, watch or a computer that is connected to a computer or cellular network or is capable of connecting to a computer or cellular network through the use of wireless or wired technology or is otherwise capable of communicating with a person or device outside of a correctional facility.”
As for “minor contraband,” the law defines it as “an alcoholic beverage or any controlled substance in schedule V, as defined in 6 CMC Chapter 1 (Commonwealth Controlled Substances Act), any paraphernalia used or intended for use in ingesting or consuming a controlled substance; or any other drugs not included in schedules I through V, except on the prescription of a licensed practitioner; any United States or foreign currency; any peripheral device that stores data digitally, mechanically, optically, or using flash memory; and any other object listed in the Department of Corrections rules and regulations as contraband and not defined as major contraband by this section.”
P.L. 23-7 states that “a conviction for the promotion of major contraband shall be punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than four years, a fine of not more than $1,500, or both,” while a conviction for the promotion of minor contraband “shall be punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than one year, a fine of not more than $1,000, or both.”
