Felon admits to sneaking drugs into Riverside County jail system
A felon who smuggled drugs into the Riverside County jail system, where inmates sold the contraband, pleaded guilty today to transporting controlled substances into a correctional facility and probation violations and was immediately sentenced to 18 months' mandatory supervision.
Shaun Manuel Adamson, 31, of Fontana admitted the offenses under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. No charges were dismissed.
The agreement was announced just as Adamson's case was called for a preliminary hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta Thursday. Superior Court Judge Timothy Freer certified the deal and imposed the stipulated sentence, which will be added onto the 24-month term of probation to
which Adamson was sentenced after pleading guilty to grand theft in July.
No jail time was specified in the plea.
The defendant was slated to be released from the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta -- the facility into which he smuggled the narcotics -- Thursday afternoon.
According to sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Rustad, the Corrections Investigations Bureau initiated a probe in June after uncovering evidence of a drug trafficking ring within the correctional system. Deputies at the Byrd Detention Center seized methamphetamine, which resulted in the identification of the alleged traffickers, Rustad said. Adamson was confirmed to be the supplier, conspiring with 40-year-old Eric Wesley Johnson of Fontana, 38-year-old Violeta Lopez of Pomona, 33-year-old Chantelle Neal of Riverside and 34-year old Rigoberto Plasencia of Riverside, Rustad alleged.
Search warrants were obtained and served at properties earlier this month, netting 2.5 pounds of fentanyl, 3.5 ounces of methamphetamine, 2.5 ounces of cocaine, a semi-automatic handgun, .75 grams of heroin and $5,000 believed to be proceeds from narcotic sales,'' the sergeant said.
Plasencia was transported to state prison for a felony conviction that occurred before the investigation concluded, according to the sheriff's department.
Johnson was arrested on suspicion of possession of controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia, but he posted a $10,000 bond and was released from the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on Dec. 10.
Lopez was arrested on suspicion of possession of controlled substances, but she posted a $5,000 bond and was also released form the Smith jail on Dec. 10.
Neal was charged with possession of controlled substances and dealing drugs in jail. She pleaded not guilty during her arraignment last week and has since been released from the Smith jail on her own recognizance. She's slated to appear for a felony settlement conference at the Murrieta courthouse on Dec. 31. This investigation was part of the sheriff's office's ongoing mission to prevent narcotics from entering our correctional facilities,'' Rustad said. "'The diligence of our deputies during searches, implementation of the non-intrusive sensor and scanning device known as the Tek-84,' and
comprehensive criminal investigations such as this are among measures the sheriff's office has taken to combat the supply of narcotics into our jail system.''
Background information on Neal, Johnson and Lopez was unavailable.
