A contract employee at Ulster County Jail was arrested yesterday after an investigation concluded she was smuggling drugs and tobacco into the jail.
Detectives from the Sheriff’s Office began their investigation earlier this month after receiving a tip about the source of contraband in the jail. On Thursday, October 11, at approximately 3:15 p.m., detectives and members of the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team conducted an operation in the Town of Rosendale that resulted in the arrest of Katrina Mitchell, 44, of Kerhonkson. Mitchell was arrested as she was conducting a transaction to receive opiate pharmaceuticals that police say she intended to smuggle into the jail in exchange for payment.
Mitchell is a commissary clerk employed by a private company contracted by the jail.Â
Mitchell was charged with:
•Attempted Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 3rd degree, a class C felony (2 counts)
•Attempted Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd degree, a class C felony (2 counts)
•Attempted Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 4th degree, a class D felony (2 counts)
•Attempted Promoting Prison Contraband 1st degree. a class E felony (2 counts)
•Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, a class A misdemeanor
Mitchell was arraigned in Town of Rosendale Justice Court and remanded to the Ulster County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash bail and $25,000 secured bond.