Officials say they uncover plot to smuggle drugs into Eastern Kentucky jail
Jail officials say they recently uncovered a scheme involving an inmate and an outside accomplice to smuggle drugs into an Eastern Kentucky detention center.
The scheme took place at the Powell County Detention Center in Stanton. The jail said Rex White, a Louisville native who had been incarcerated at the jail since 2023, allegedly conspired with Antwan Earsery, of Danville, to sneak drugs into the jail via the transfer section.
Jailer Teddy Lacy contacted local and state law enforcement upon discovering the plot, according to the jail. Earsery was arrested by officers on the Mountain Parkway and charged with trafficking in a controlled substance and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.
“We’re just doing our job,” Lacy said in a press release. “But I want to be very clear when I say to anyone who thinks they’ll be bringing drugs or any other type of contraband into our facility: We will find you, and when we do, you will face legal prosecution and all consequences permitted by law.”
An arrest citation for Earsery says he “dropped the trash” off to Nicholas Evanoff, an inmate at the Powell County jail who was later found with the suspected drugs. There was also recorded jail calls and chirp messages describing the details of the plan prior to the transaction.
Chirp messages are text messages from a preconfigured phone that inmates can send from inside the jail to regular mobile devices outside the facility, according to Cory Graham with the public relations office at the Powell County jail. Inmates are required to purchase time to access the phone but jail officials are able to monitor the phone’s communications.
“In the facility we monitor these messages (or “chirps”) from inmates, which led to us discovering the workings of this plan,” Graham said.
Evanoff has not yet been charged with any offenses related to the investigation. Graham said Evanoff’s case is being handled by a grand jury and the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
The drugs found in Evanoff’s possession were “orange rectangular strips scored A8, buprenorphine,” Earsery’s arrest citation says. Graham said those are opioids typically used to treat substance abuse disorder and they are banned from correctional facilities.
Lacy thanked the officials from the other departments who helped with the investigation. He also highlighted the jail’s rehabilitation program, emphasizing the desire to help inmates instead of house inmates.
“We don’t just want to house people until their sentences are up; we want to see them change their lives,” Lacy said. “So anyone trying to derail someone’s success by bringing contraband into the Powell County Detention Center should think twice before trying it.”
