Delaware woman, SCI Mahanoy inmate charged for contraband smuggle attempt
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL FILE - SCI-Mahanoy, seen from the Shenandoah Heights area.
MOREA – A Delaware woman and a state prisoner are facing felony drug charges after an attempt to smuggle suboxone into a state prison.
Danaya Valerie Lendell, 26, of Wilmington, was arraigned Wednesday on felony contraband, possession with intent to deliver, and criminal use of a communication facility charges.
Michael Lamb, 35, is set to be arraigned next week on felony contraband, criminal use of a communication facility, and conspiracy possession with intent to deliver charges.
Lamb is an inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Mahanoy, serving a life sentence for a deadly 2008 shooting in Philadelphia.
According to court documents filed Monday by Agent James Spehrley of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, SCI Mahanoy security staff intercepted a phone call on Jan. 8 between Lamb and Lendell in which they allegedly conspired to introduce controlled substances into the prison.
The two were scheduled for a contact visit the next day.
A K-9 unit and staff from the Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence were on site for the visit and a sniff search of Lendell indicated the presence of a controlled substance.
When questioned, Lendell told authorities she had a package inside her mouth that “contained drugs of some sort,” but said she didn’t know specifically what. The package was to be delivered that day. She admitted that, during their phone calls, they would use coded language to discuss their plans.
On Jan. 10, the package was searched and had three separate bundles of suspected suboxone. A test conducted by the Cumberland County Forensic Laboratory confirmed it was suboxone on Feb. 3.
Lamb told authorities on Jan. 28 that he was taking ownership and responsibility for the substances, but would not provide information on how Lendell acquired them. He said he consistently pressured her to bring the substances in “even though she was reluctant to do so.”
Lendell was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Anthony Kilker in Shenandoah on Wednesday and released on $25,000 unsecured bail.
Lamb is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 18.
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