Clearfield jail buys body scanner to combat contraband

Three female inmates overdose on drugs smuggled inside

CLEARFIELD -- Problems with drugs at the Clearfield County Jail have led to the county purchasing a full body scanner for the facility.

During a recent prison board meeting, Warden Dave Gallagher noted that the purchase of the equipment -- approved by the county commissioners in September -- is moving forward.

Once the paperwork is complete, the company will do a site visit and inspection. The scanner costs $130,000, with funds for the purchase coming from the Opioid Settlement and American Rescue Plan Act funds, according to previous reports.

It will take three days to install it. Six employees will be trained for about eight hours before using it, he explained.

"They can begin to use it quickly after completing the training," Commissioner Dave Glass said. It will be used whenever new inmates are brought into the facility and after contact with visitors. Officials will also use it to scan those on work release when they return to the jail.

District Attorney Ryan Sayers added that it will be used if corrections officers suspect someone of holding contraband.

"It is less powerful than an X-ray," Glass noted.

Online information on the scanner, a HT3000SV from Secure Technology Value Solutions, specifies that it would take 400 inspections to equal the radiation of one chest X-ray. It will detect items under clothing or hidden in a body cavity, including weapons, explosives, drugs, mobile phones and jewelry, the manufacturers stated.

"No system is perfect, but this is a big piece" to stopping contraband, Glass said.

The security at the jail has been in question after three female inmates overdosed on contraband drugs in July. The third woman, Kaitlyn Evans, 31, overdosed a few days after the other two and died.

Police say Angela Marie Ricketts, 38, hid drugs including fentanyl, Xanax and Klonopin in a body cavity when she was taken into custody for a warrant on July 5.

She is now charged with multiple offenses, including drug delivery resulting in death.

Last week, the family of Evans filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the county, jail, warden and other corrections officers.

Among the issues raised in the suit is that officials did not find the drugs after the first two overdoses, which happened moments apart. The complaint also details how a corrections officer failed to check on Evans after she was seen sleeping in an odd position, and when she was found unresponsive later, employees failed to do CPR or use Narcan as they had with the other women, and even delayed calling 911.

Under an extraordinary occurrence report, Gallagher stated there was one attempted suicide but there was no mention of a corrections officer assaulting an inmate.

According to court documents, on Oct. 6, Tyler Daniels, 26, of DuBois, allegedly pushed a 65-year-old inmate into his cell, causing him to fall onto a toilet and wall, hitting his head.

Daniels, who is also one of the corrections officers named in the Evans' lawsuit, has been charged with simple assault and harassment. His preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 15.

The board did not discuss the lawsuit during the meeting, which is common with pending litigation. At the end of the meeting, the board did go into an executive session to discuss legal and personnel issues.

Two days ago, the county posted a deputy warden position on its website, indicating that one of the two deputies has resigned since the prison board meeting.