By Rose Gruenbacher
The Manhattan Mercury, Kan.
RILEY COUNTY, Kan. —Documents say a former Riley County corrections officer was in a romantic relationship with a Riley County Jail inmate in the fall when the pair exchanged “love notes” and she snuck Wing Stop and other contraband items into the facility.
Ashley Britt, 24, is charged in Riley County District Court with eight counts of trafficking contraband in the jail. Kansas Bureau of Investigation agents conducted an investigation against Britt and arrested her April 10 . She was booked into the Geary County Jail and released the same day on an $8,000 bond.
The Mercury obtained an affidavit prepared by KBI senior special agent Samuel Riffel revealing new details related to the investigation of Britt.
She was employed as an officer of the jail on Oct. 3 when other jail workers found an unauthorized pack of Sudafed in an inmate’s cell and an oral syringe (commonly used to administer liquid medicine) in the staff bathroom. The discovered items prompted a search of Britt’s bag she brought into a restricted area in the jail. More oral syringes like the one found in the staff bathroom were found, as well as numerous “love notes” between Britt and an inmate.
An initial investigation by a lieutenant at the jail found Britt trafficked contraband several times between Sept. 20 and Oct. 1 . Over the course of her indiscretions, Britt smuggled in food from Wing Stop, nicotine containers, three packs of headphones, hair ties and a comb. All items were unauthorized. In the last transgression, Britt reportedly provided jail meals to the inmate but added condiments she brought from outside the facility.
After being called into the investigation on Oct. 8 , Riffel reviewed video footage from the jail and found evidence of Britt’s alleged crimes. His report says surveillance showed a handoff of nicotine pouches in the middle of a jail pod, an attempt at concealing the Wing Stop handoff and the dropoff of headphones.
Riffel also obtained several of the love notes reportedly exchanged between Britt and the inmate. Many of the notes were hidden in a word search book that was in Britt’s possession and video showed being handled by both Britt and the inmate.
Additionally, Riffel found Britt had been communicating with the inmate by phone and text through Turnkey, a service provided to inmates at the Riley County Jail , at least as early as Aug. 31 . Nearly two full pages of those communications appear to be included in the affidavit, but were redacted before release.
Britt made her first court appearance May 1 , but made no plea as her charges are classified as felonies. She is next scheduled for a status hearing June 23 .
Court records under Britt’s name show a marriage license certificate issued for Britt and Caziah Randal Self on Dec. 8 .
Self, also 24, was an inmate in the Riley County Jail . After entering a plea deal with county prosecutors, he was convicted Oct. 17 of involuntary manslaughter and distribution of a controlled substance causing great bodily harm. In return for his plea, the prosecution dropped Self’s remaining charges of aggravated battery, two counts of distribution of less than 10 units of fentanyl and using a cell phone to distribute a controlled substance.
The court sentenced Self Nov. 24 to a controlling term of four years and three months with the Kansas Department of Corrections . He received 399 days of jail credit for time already served.
Police would not release the identity of the inmate involved in Britt’s case.
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