Lauren Del Zimmerman, 31, is an officer at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh. Zimmerman is the second prison guard in North Carolina this week to be arrested for alleged drug distribution to inmates.
Zimmerman was allegedly among nine people charged with being part of a statewide drug distribution network that focused on getting narcotics into state prisons, ABC 11 News reports.
The drug ring distributed Suboxone and Adderall among prison inmates and was run by Samuel Lee Perkins of Burlington, NC authorities said.
Suboxone is an opioid that is used to treat heroin addiction, Suboxone can also lead to dependency. Adderall is an amphetamine often prescribed for treatment of attention-deficit disorder. Based on information investigators uncovered, Suboxone strips would sell for $200 to $300 in prison.
Zimmerman was charged with felony conspiracy to sell and deliver Schedule III controlled substances. Zimmerman has worked as a corrections officer at the women’s prison in Raleigh since Nov. 16, 2017.
In the previous arrest of a North Carolina prison guard, Erice Blyther was arrested October 29 after an FBI investigation determined he was smuggling the opioid buprenorphine into the prison.
Lanesboro Correctional Institution, which is a state prison
