From Staff Reports
The Oklahoman
OKLAHOMA CITY — Four women were arrested Friday after jail officials foiled an attempt to smuggle contraband into the jail.
On August 14, investigators were notified of a hole that had been made through one of the jail’s cells with the intent of receiving contraband from outside, according to a court affidavit.
About 3:20 a.m. Friday, deputies responded to the northeast corner of the jail, where they found a line “made of issue bedding” draped over a covered parking spot. While the deputies were trying to take down the line, they noticed a second line being lowered from the 12th floor of the jail, near where the hole was discovered.
The deputies continued to watch as the line was lowered and positioned themselves in the jail’s parking lot. A short time later, a vehicle drove into the parking lot and a deputy pulled his vehicle behind the vehicle.
Another deputy approached the vehicle and ordered the driver, later identified as Rochelle Hopkins, 39, to stop, according to the affidavit.
Hopkins stopped the vehicle briefly, but then sped off, striking a deputy from the side. After a short pursuit, the vehicle stopped near NW 4 and Shartel Avenue and four women were taken into custody. Inside the car, deputies reported finding two children, one 14 months old and the other 10 months old, and “a large amount of contraband” in the front seat of the car.
Officials said the contraband, wrapped in duct tape, contained tobacco, marijuana, cellphones and a pill that tested positive for ecstasy.
Hopkins was arrested and booked into the jail on a number of complaints, including child endangerment, drug possession and assault with a deadly weapon.
Also arrested in the incident were Myra Brooks, 26, Lisa D. Bruner, 26, and Reba Brooks. The three women were booked into the Oklahoma County jail on complaints of child endangerment and drug possession.
Mark Opgrande, a spokesman for the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department said jail staff decided not to fix the hole, which he described as about the size of a brick, but instead wanted to see what the inmates planned to do.
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“We constantly monitor the outside of the building for those kinds of things,” he said.
Opgrande said they have an idea of who the inmates are, but they are still investigating the incident and working to decide what, if any, additional charges the inmates may face.
He said the hole hasn’t been fixed yet, but no inmates are in the cell and maintenance staff will address the breach.