Police: Md. Correctional Officer Attempted To Deliver Drugs To Inmate
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ)—A Maryland correctional training officer has been charged after police say he attempted to deliver drugs to an inmate.
52-year-old Patrick Merson, an officer with the Maryland Correctional Training Center (MCTC) in Hagerstown, is facing 11 criminal charges related to an alleged plot to bring heroin, OxyContin, and synthetic marijuana known as "Spice" into the prison.
Investigators believe Merson was working with a relative of the inmate to deliver the drugs from a location in Smithsburg, MD.
"This Department will not tolerate corruption, period," said Stephen T. Moyer, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. "As dangerous as contraband is in a facility, it's unconscionable to think that employees, particularly veteran employees, would allow themselves to become involved in such activity. The safety of staff and inmates is critical, and contraband seriously compromises that."