Tehani Teepe, 39 and Timothy King, 28, were arrested by the Regional Enforcement Narcotics Unit on Thursday after she allegedly mailed the Bible to King at the Hamilton County Justice Center last month. King was held there before being transferred to the Butler County Jail on Dec. 19, Cincinnati.com reports.
The pair faces charges of alleged illegal conveyance of contraband into a correctional facility, and if convicted of the third-degree felony, they could face up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000.
Ohio police say that Kree, a drug-sniffing dog identified the drug-laced Bible during a routine delivery sweep at the Center. An officer noted a brown stain inside the book and sent it for testing, WCPO reports. Testing over a period of a few weeks confirmed that the substance was heroin.
There was enough heroin to account for as much as 30-40 hits to get high, toxicology experts estimated, and if taken all at once it could be lethal, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.
“Had our officer not been as diligent as he was in finding these drugs, and the inmate would have gotten this delivered to him and that square would have been taken out, just the size you see there, in all probability, it would have killed him,” Chief Deputy Mark Schoonover said, per WCPO.
Some inmates with addiction problems will go to any length to get drugs into prisons, said Sheriff Jim Neil, Sky News reports.
“Now you get a glimpse into how incredibly creative and determined these addicted inmates are, and how we must remain equally determined.”
Investigators say they think Teepe mailed the book to King who was at the Center after being charged with alleged theft, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in connection with an incident at a Dillard’s store.
The two may have decided to use the Bible because the Sheriff’s office has to accept religious materials. Any other books must be new and sent from the publisher.
The stain, about the size of a half-dollar, was found on the first page of the Book of Daniel, Cincinnati.com reports.
Last September, inmate Daniel Davis, 50, managed to take a fatal dose of heroin and investigators are trying to figure out how it got into the Center. His body was found around 5:10 a.m. on Sept. 25, WCPO reports.
His death has led the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office to tighten up efforts to prevent drugs from winding up in the facility.
On Jan. 5, ten drug-sniffing dogs helped deputies conduct drug searches inside the Hamilton County jail during an intense sweep. This was on the same day they announced new measures to keep drugs and contraband out of the jail.
Neil says his deputies are doing a good job.
“I want to commend my staff who remain vigilant in our efforts to keep drugs out (of the Justice Center). Criminals are determined, but so are we,” he said Friday.
The incident is still under investigation.
