A corrections officer at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola was  on Saturday (May 13) arrested for bringing contraband into the prison after a variety of drugs, tobacco and cell phones were found in her car inside the facility, the Louisiana Department of Corrections announced.

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Corrections officer April Matthews, 23, of Baton Rouge, resigned after being arrested, officials said. She had worked at Angola since Aug. 2, 2016. Officials found 24 ecstasy pills, 2.6 ounces of marijuana, 9.08 ounces of synthetic marijuana, eight Xanax pills, 4.9 grams of methamphetamine, four Tylenol 3 pills, 16 cell phones, tobacco, rolling papers, phone chargers and $511 in cash in her car, said a news release.

Sheila Phipps, mother of Mac Phipps spoke Saturday (April 22) during a panel on incarceration called Mass Story Lab.

“Corrections officers immediately notified the West Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office, and deputies booked Matthews with introduction of contraband into a penal institution, malfeasance in office, one count of possession of schedule four narcotics and two counts of possession of schedule one narcotics,” the news release said. Officials said the investigation into the contraband smuggling was ongoing, “with inmate arrests expected.”

NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune