A federal inmate in Devens whose sentence was reduced by President Biden in January, and an employee of the Massachusetts state who visited him, faces charges for allegedly smuggling synthetic marijuana in the prison, said the office of the United States Prosecutor of Massachusetts on Wednesday.
Raymond Gaines, 45, an alleged former associate of a Boston street gang, is complying with a prison sentence in FMC Devens for its cocaine distribution, said the US prosecutor’s office. UU. Leah B. Foley in a statement.
Gaines was sentenced in January 2022 to more than seven years after he declared himself guilty in a federal court in Boston of possession with the intention of distributing cocaine and having a firearm in the rigid drug trafficking, prosecutors said.
At that time, Gaines, known for associating with the Orchard Park Trailblazers, was on federal probation after serving imprisonment for a sentence in 2017 for distributing the cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a school, according to Foley’s statement.
Biden granted Clemencia to Gaines on January 17, reducing his prison sentence to five years.
The new Gaines position is the conspiracy to distribute a synthetic cannabinoid, known as K2, in the prison in Devens, prosecutors said.
Tasha Hammock, 43, of Bridgewater, who works for the State Environmental Protection Department, faces the same position, authorities said. She was arrested on Tuesday and made an initial appearance in the United States District Court in Boston.
A state DEP spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comments on Wednesday night.
Gaines’ initial appearance has not yet been scheduled.
According to accusation documents, Hammock surreptically passed K2’s documents to Gaines while visiting him in prison. Gaines pocketed smuggling.
Hammock is also accused of receiving K2 at his residence for distribution in prison and for allegedly handling money related to the distribution of the medication, prosecutors said.
The researchers were interested in Hammock prison visits after confiscating a cell phone that had been smuggled to an inmate, said Foley’s statement.
They discovered messages between an inmate and another person who discussed the installments from K2 to Bridgewater and then to the prison.
K2 has caused health problems in FMC Devens, according to collection documents. The inmates have become ill of smoking paper that believe it is tied with K2. Prison staff has become ill of their exposure to secondary smoke.
The conspiracy to distribute the position entails a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and a maximum fine of $ 1 million, prosecutors said.
You can contact Tonya Alanez in tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @Talanez.
