Indiana jail guard, inmate indicted on cell phone smuggling charges

A corrections officer and inmate at the Indiana County Jail have been indicted in connection with what federal prosecutors described as a scheme to smuggle cell phones into the lockup.

The indictments against Alex Lewis, 25, formerly of Home, and Rashon Richardson, 30, were unsealed Monday. A grand jury found that Lewis, who was working as a guard at the White Township jail, smuggled “multiple” cell phones into the facility for Richardson between June and August 2019, according to the indictment.

The phones would come from a person outside the jail who was not named in the indictment, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Scott Brady. Richardson, investigators said, would then use that person to pay Lewis for the work through a money transfer smartphone application. Authorities did not say how many phones they think were smuggled, but alleged in court papers that bringing one phone into the jail earned Lewis $400.

Lewis set up in-person meetings with the unnamed source several times, according to the indictment. Authorities said Richardson then used the smuggled cell phones to communicate with the outside source to avoid detection by jail officials.

Richardson was being held at the jail as a federal detainee in connection with a 2016 indictment. He pleaded guilty to a weapons violation and drug offense in that case, according to online court records.

Both men are charged with conspiracy, bribery of a public official and use of facility in interstate commerce in aid of bribery. Lewis faces an additional extortion count.

Arrest warrants were approved by a judge on Friday. No court action had been scheduled Tuesday morning. Neither suspect had an attorney listed in online federal court records.