Married prison guards facing life in prison for dealing drugs and providing cell phones to inmates

In the early morning hours of August 8, following investigations by law enforcement agencies associated with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, it was announced that two Oklahoma prison guards have been charged with methamphetamine distribution. Those two prison guards just happen to be married.

Travis Eugene Wascher, 42, and Micah Lynne Wascher, 36, both of Canute, Oklahoma, were correctional officers for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections at the North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre, Oklahoma, at the time investigations into their criminal activities commenced.  According to KFOR in Oklahoma, the Waschers were both hired by the department in June of 2017 and fired in June of 2019.

According to an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint filed July 30, Oklahoma Department of Corrections staff confiscated a cellphone from a North Fork inmate May 27. It is alleged the Department’s Security Threats Intelligence group discovered the phone contained evidence of regular communications among the inmate who had the phone, another inmate, and Micah Lynne Wascher. The phone allegedly included evidence that the other inmate had been receiving money on a Green Dot prepaid credit card from Wascher.

Those two inmates are alleged to be members of the Universal Aryan Brotherhood. When Department of Corrections’ officers searched the Waschers’ home in Canute, they recovered 11 cellphones and 72 grams of methamphetamine.

The Waschers were arrested August 6. The following day, a federal grand jury returned an indictment that charged both of them with three crimes: conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and maintaining a drug-involved premises.

“Oklahomans expect prison officials to enforce our laws, not to use their positions to introduce contraband such as drugs and cell phones,” said U.S. Attorney Downing. “I am pleased to work with state corrections officials to ensure Oklahoma’s prisons are free of this sort of corruption.”

If found guilty of either of the first two charges, each defendant faces a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $5 million. This crime carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison. Each defendant would also be required to serve a term of supervised release of at least four years and up to life.

If found guilty of the third charge, each could be imprisoned up to 20 years and be subject to a fine of up to $500,000, in addition to three years of supervised release.

(Source: ICE)

~  Written by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter