GREENBELT, MARYLAND – Danielle Dominique Smith, 34, of Waldorf, Maryland, a former Prince George’s County Department of Corrections correctional officer, was sentenced to four months in prison, followed by four months of home detention and three years of supervised release. She was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, related to smuggling drugs into a correctional facility.
The sentencing was announced by U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang, with United States Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland, Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration – Washington Division, Director Corenne D. Labbe of the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections, and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department also involved in the investigation.
Smith, who worked at the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections from November 23, 2009, to April 15, 2022, developed a romantic and sexual relationship with an inmate, Avante Daquan Lee. Their relationship, which included discussions about their affairs on recorded jail calls, lasted from at least June 3, 2021, to March 2, 2022.
As per the plea agreement, between August 29, 2021, and March 2, 2022, Smith conspired with Lee and other co-conspirators to distribute Suboxone and synthetic cannabinoid, known as K2. She obtained these substances from outside sources and smuggled them into the correctional facility, hiding them in food trays designated for Lee. Lee then distributed these drugs to other inmates. In return, Smith received payments from inmates or their contacts.
The scheme was discovered during targeted cell searches, leading to the recovery of K2 and Suboxone that Smith had smuggled. Following a leave of absence in February 2022, Smith was administratively suspended upon her return in March 2022 due to suspicions of further smuggling.
On October 13, 2023, Avante Daquan Lee, 30, was also sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to his role in the conspiracy.