CLARK COUNTY, Ind. — A Sellersburg woman was arrested after police say she tried to send mail saturated with a controlled substance to an inmate in the Clark County Jail.
According to Clark County Chief Deputy Scottie Maples, the sheriff's office began an investigation in January after a suspicious piece of mail was sent to the jail. The envelope, addressed to an inmate, appeared to have been saturated with some kind of substance.
Upon further testing, officials determined that the mail had been saturated with a Controlled 1 Scheduled Substance. The mail was labeled as legal mail, but they believe that was done because legal mail isn't searched as thoroughly due to strict regulations.
Following their investigation, the Clark County Sheriff's Office determined that Melissa Richie, 43, was the one who mailed the envelope into the facility. Richie allegedly coordinated with Richard Voelker, who has been in the Clark County Jail since March 2020 for charges of attempted murder and unlawful possession of a weapon by a serious violent felon.
The envelope Richie sent was addressed to another inmate, according to Maples, but that inmate had no connection to Richie, Voelker or their plan to get drugs into the jail.
Richie has been charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit trafficking with an inmate, one count of conspiracy to commit dealing in a schedule 1 controlled substance, and conspiracy to commit dealing in marijuana. Voelker is facing the same charges.
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