By Taylor Six
Lexington Herald-Leader
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Two former guards at a Lexington federal prison were sentenced last week in separate cases for taking and offering bribes inside the facility.
Both women were previously employed at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington. Both were charged with federal crimes in 2025.
A. Jade Howard, a former guard at the Federal Medical Center, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison by United States District Judge Karen Caldwell for bribery.
Between 2021 and Oct. 16, 2024, Howard worked as a corrections officer and later a material handler, according to court documents.
In spring 2023, an unidentified inmate approached Howard and asked her to bring cigarettes into the facility, despite knowing it was against the prison’s policy.
Howard smuggled the contraband and received payment through accounts on mobile banking applications in December 2023 .
In total, Howard received $18,602, according to court documents. In August 2024 , the same inmate approached Howard and asked her to smuggle in synthetic marijuana, according to court records.
She agreed to smuggle in 50 sheets of paper laced with what she believed was synthetic marijuana.
When other FMC staff learned Howard was smuggling contraband in September 2024 , they took the remaining sheets of paper. At the time, the staff thought the papers were laced with fentanyl based on how inmates were acting after taking it. Laboratory testing confirmed a synthetic cannabinoid was on the papers, court records state.
Howard pleaded guilty Oct. 6 to a federal charge of bribery, according to court records.
Another woman, Ariell Zulewski, 29, was a former recreation specialist at the Federal Medical Center.
Zulewski pleaded guilty Nov. 14 to charges of abusive sexual contact and bribery of public officials and witnesses.
She was sentenced to 12 months in prison for sexual contact and receipt of an illegal gratuity.
Zulewski had sex with an inmate between December 2023 and February 2024, according to the plea agreement.
She also sent nude photos of herself to the inmate’s contraband cellphone. She brought him tobacco and vapes, too, according to the plea agreement.
Zulewski received two CashApp payments totaling $500 for not reporting the contraband, according to court documents.
She will be on supervision for one year after her release.
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