Prisoner gets more time for drugs

Houtzdale inmate swallowed balloon of synthetic cannabinoid

CLEARFIELD ­-- Two people accused of smuggling drugs into the state prison at Houtzdale, which almost led to the death of an inmate, were in Clearfield County Court to be sentenced Monday.

Raheem Smith, 34, an inmate of SCI Houtzdale, pleaded guilty to felony possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and was given an additional state prison sentence of two to four years by President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman.

Prior to sentencing, he admitted that he "made the wrong choice" and took responsibility for his actions.

Smith is serving a 12- to 24-year sentence from 2018 for a robbery in Philadelphia County.

His girlfriend, Alesia Berryman, 38, of Wilmington, Delaware, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person and possession of a controlled substance. She was given a sentence of 30 days to one year in county jail, with two years consecutive probation.

Her attorney, Jendi Schwab, asked Ammerman for her time to be served on house arrest so she could keep her jobs.

Ammerman responded that the Commonwealth had already been extremely generous with her plea agreement when she could have gotten two to four years in state prison on a felony contraband charge.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, prison staff found Smith unresponsive in his cell on Nov. 22, 2021. He was taken first to the medical department for an evaluation, then transported to UPMC Altoona for emergency treatment for a possible overdose.

The unit manager was told that Smith may have ingested a balloon containing drugs he received from Berryman the previous day.

A "specimen" recovered by medical personnel was determined to be a synthetic cannabinoid.

In his interview with investigators, Smith admitted that he set up the exchange with Berryman for what he thought would be a full sheet of K2. He explained he did not pay for the drugs but expected to make $60,000 by distributing pieces of the contraband to other inmates.

In one of his phone conversations with Berryman, they discussed the transaction, during which Smith stated that it might be "too big to get down," seemingly referring to the fact that it would be difficult to swallow.

When she spoke with authorities, Berryman said an unknown individual dropped off in her mailbox a plain, white envelope containing a small, black square. She was not sure if the person who dropped it off was the same one she had texted about the drugs.

She admitted she had the item in her pocket and handed it to Smith during their visit.

Paper soaked in K2 has become a problem in correctional facilities in recent years, with relatives or friends delivering the treated paper through the mail, sometimes disguised as legal paperwork, according to previous reports.