Former Prison Case Manager Sentenced and Former Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty in Bribery Schemes to Smuggle Contraband to Inmates

A North Carolina man was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for accepting bribes to smuggle drugs and other contraband into Caledonia Correctional Institution (now Roanoke River Correctional Institution), and another North Carolina man pleaded guilty to a similar scheme.

Ollie Rose III, 62, of Pleasant Hill, was sentenced on March 15 to 46 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $42,000. According to court documents, Rose worked as a case manager at Caledonia Correctional Institution, a state prison in Halifax County. Rose admitted to using his position to smuggle contraband — including marijuana, tobacco, and synthetic cannabinoids (K2) — into the prison for inmates in exchange for bribes totaling at least $42,000, paid in cash and via a mobile application, and that he sometimes also took a portion of the drugs he smuggled into the prison as payment. The scheme lasted from at least November 2018 through October 2020, when Rose was arrested.

Warren Reed, 38, of Scotland Neck, pleaded guilty on March 18 to extortion under color of official right. According to court documents, Reed worked as a correctional officer at Caledonia Correctional Institution. He admitted to using his position as a public official to smuggle contraband — including marijuana and cell phones — into the prison for inmates in exchange for bribes. Reed is scheduled to be sentenced on June 20, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Special Agent in Charge Robert R. Wells of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office made the announcement.The FBI investigated the case with significant assistance from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

Trial Attorneys Rebecca M. Schuman and Lauren E. Britsch of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the cases.

The cases are part of the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to combat prison corruption. In addition to the above matter, the Public Integrity Section has obtained convictions against two other former North Carolina prison officials who smuggled contraband, including illegal narcotics, into Caledonia Correctional Institution in exchange for bribe payments. See United States v. Jeremy Chambers, No. 4:21-CR-00038 (E.D.N.C.); United States v. Kenneth Farr, No. 4:21-CR-00009 (E.D.N.C.). Separately, the Public Integrity Section has obtained convictions against several federal prison officials who smuggled contraband into Leavenworth Detention Center. See United States v. Willie Golden, Case No. 2:21-CR-20061 (D. Kan.); United States v. Janna Grier, Case No. 2:22-CR-20001 (D. Kan.); United States v. Jeane Arnette, Case No. 2:21-cr-20063 (D. Kan.); United States v. Cheyonte Harris, No. 2:21-CR-20054 (D. Kan.); United States v. Jacqueline Sifuentes, No. 2:21-CR-20053 (D. Kan.).