Butte County California Sheriff's Office: INMATE ARRESTED AFTER SMUGGLING FENTANYL INTO JAIL CAUSING MULTIPLE INMATE OVERDOSES

Press release from the Butte County California Sheriff's Office:

January 07, 2022

January 7, 2022INMATE ARRESTED AFTER SMUGGLING FENTANYL INTO JAIL CAUSING MULTIPLE INMATE OVERDOSESOROVILLE - During the early morning hours of January 6, 2022, Butte County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) correctional deputies were alerted to three inmates within a medium-security housing unit at the Butte County Jail, who were exhibiting signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose. Jail medical staff and correctional staff immediately responded and administered Narcan® (naloxone) to the three inmates. Each inmate required multiple administrations of naloxone. All three inmates were subsequently transported to the hospital via ambulance. Two of the three inmates have since been treated and released back into custody at the jail. One remains hospitalized. Later in the day on January 6, 2022, correctional deputies were alerted to another inmate within the same housing unit who was also exhibiting signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose. Medical and jail staff again immediately responded and administered multiple doses of naloxone. That inmate was also transported to the hospital, where he was treated and released back into custody at the jail. The housing unit was subsequently searched and approximately 14.8 grams of fentanyl was discovered. Included in that amount was approximately 14 grams that an inmate had attempted to conceal in his anal cavity, which the inmate voluntarily removed. The inmates within that housing unit were advised of the significant risks associated with the use of fentanyl.Detectives from the Butte Interagency Narcotic Task Force (BINTF) were brought in to investigate.The next day, on January 7, 2022, correctional deputies were alerted to an additional inmate within the same housing unit who was exhibiting signs and symptoms of an opiate overdose. Medical and jail staff again immediately responded and administered a single dose of naloxone. That inmate was medically cleared by jail medical staff. The BINTF investigation into how the fentanyl entered the facility continues. However, to date, BINTF detectives have identified 35-year old Eric Robert Rehse as the source of the fentanyl resulting in the overdoses. On January 5, 2022, Rehse had been arrested on an outstanding felony warrant related to property crimes when he voluntarily came to the lobby of the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives have cause to believe Rehse concealed the fentanyl inside his anal cavity prior to his arrival at the Sheriff’s office and subsequent arrest. Detectives believe Rehse retrieved the drugs after being visually strip searched and placed into the housing unit, then he distributed the drugs to other inmates, who intentionally ingested the drugs. Detectives re-arrested Rehse, who remained in custody, and forwarded a request for complaint to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office for the felony charges of bringing a controlled substance into the jail and sale/transportation/distribution of a controlled substance. It has and continues to be the policy of the Butte County Jail that inmates who are housed be thoroughly searched prior to being initially admitted into the housing areas. Housing intake searches include a thorough visual search of the incoming inmate’s body. However, without probable cause, a court order and assistance from licensed medical professionals, correctional deputies are legally prohibited from physically searching the body cavities of inmates. In addition to screening and searching incoming inmates, correctional staff continue to conduct regular and unannounced searches of inmate housing units, including using K-9’s that are trained to alert to the odor of narcotics. Additionally, naloxone is distributed and staged throughout the jail facility to allow for the rapid administration to inmates and staff in the event of an overdose or exposure emergency. Due to the high potency of fentanyl, ingestion or exposure to even an extraordinarily small amount can result in life-threatening overdoses. Depending on purity, ingestion of a quantity of illicit fentanyl the size of a few grains of salt can lead to an overdose. Given the increased prevalence of fentanyl within the community and the difficulties associated with intercepting contraband when arrestees attempt to smuggle items into the jail by inserting them into a body cavity, the Sheriff’s Office is exploring funding options to purchase a “body scanner.” A “body scanner” for correctional facilities is similar to “body scanners” used at security screening stations at airports. The scanners use imaging technology to assist corrections officials in detecting contraband hidden inside an arrestee’s body cavity. This is a legally permissible and less invasive method to conduct such searches. Sheriff Kory Honea said: “Keeping contraband out of correctional facilities has always been challenging. As long as there have been jails and prisons, inmates have sought out ways to smuggle drugs into the facilities. Our correctional deputies do their very best, within the bounds of the law, to prevent that from happening. However, given the increased prevalence of fentanyl within the community, the challenges have taken on a greater level of complexity. This recent trend underscores how addiction drives people to do things that may result in their death. This is a significant problem throughout the country as evidenced by the increased number of overdose deaths, driven in large part by highly-potent synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl.” ###

This press release was produced by the Butte County California Sheriff's Office. The views expressed here are the author’s own.