FRENCH CAMP, Calif. — Two small basketballs filled with a mixed amount of drugs was found at San Joaquin County’s “Honor Farm Facility” on Wednesday.
According to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, a corrections officer at the facility stumbled across a small, green basketball during a security check.
Knowing that the ball did not come from the commissary, officers at the facility cut open the ball only to find it stuffed full of drugs – 12 grams of marijuana, 1.8 grams of meth, and a lighter.
Soon after the first ball was found, officers found a second ball. When they cut this one open it too was full of drugs – 2.7 grams of marijuana, 2.4 grams of heroin, and 1.5 grams of meth.
Officers eventually determined the two balls belonged to inmate Richard Christian Deathriage. Investigators also said a woman named Christie Mueller helped bring the drugs in for Deathriage.
New felony charges have been brought against Deathriage for this incident, including assisting in bringing a controlled substance into jail, possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession, and purchase for sale of a narcotic controlled substance, and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Mueller was also arrested and booked. She is facing charges for possession and purchase for sale of a narcotic and controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale, and assisting in bringing a controlled substance into jail.
The San Joaquin County Jail's Honor Farm Facility is a low-security jail for minor offenders.