Last of three arrested after investigation into drugs being smuggled into Lakeland prison
BRANCH COUNTY — District Court Tuesday arraigned Lakiesha Jefferson, the sister of a former parolee, for allegedly smuggling drugs into Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater by mail.
Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Matt Berry said Lakiesha Jefferson, 37, was arrested Monday in Detroit by troopers with the assistance of the Michigan State Police 2nd District Fugitive team without incident on the charge of conspiracy to bring contraband into the prison by mail, a five-year felony.
Antwaun Jefferson, 38, already pleaded no contest to bringing contraband into a prison and is set for sentencing on April 8.
Antwaun Jefferson was paroled from a 10 to 30 year armed robbery sentence in 2017. He was returned to Lakeland Corrections in December.
Brandon Head, 38, is scheduled to enter a plea on April 15 on the same charge.
The investigation began in May 2023 when prison staff inspected a book mailed to Head, a Lakeland inmate. Inspectors found 10 strips of the opioid suboxone inside.
Berry said the investigation involved the Michigan Department of Corrections Intelligence Unit, the U.S. Postal Inspector's Office, the MSP multi-jurisdictional narcotics unit C.O.M.E.T., the MSP 2nd District Computer Crimes Unit, and the state crime lab in Lansing.
Agents found information on the Jeffersons' computer regarding fake Amazon shipping labels used to send the pack.
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Bond for Lakiesha Jefferson was set at $1,000. The public defender was appointed to represent her. That office had no comment on the arrest.
A probable cause conference was set for March 21, with the preliminary exam on March 27.
-- Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Last of three arrested after investigation into drugs being smuggled into Lakeland prison
