On April 30th, 2018 Detention Officers were inspecting inmate mail addressed to Michael Schraeder of Chandler. Schraeder is currently in PCSO custody for armed robbery charges. Upon inspection, the detention officer discovered 5.714 grams of methamphetamine concealed inside booklets. The booklets were mailed in a legal envelope, with a return address for an attorney out of New Mexico.

During the course of the investigation, our detention and narcotics investigators discovered that Schraeder and another inmate, 37-year-old Cory Powers of Mesa, discussed having the drugs smuggled into the facility. Power asked his girlfriend mail in the drugs, using the attorney’s address to through off investigators if the drugs were found.

“I cannot express how proud I am of our detention staff and narcotics investigators for their due diligence. Our detention officers stopped the drugs and worked with our narcotics investigators on identifying everyone involved,” said Sheriff Mark Lamb. “This teamwork between our jail and investigators isn’t just stopping drugs from coming in. It is also helping us be proactive in stopping crimes before they happen in our community.”

36-year-old Britanya Hawks of Maricopa, Cory Powers and Michael Schraeder are all facing charges in connection to this investigation. Hawks is currently in custody in Gila County for an unrelated case. In addition to their current charges, they are also facing several charges of promoting prison contraband, possession of a dangerous drug and drug paraphernalia.