LONDON, Ky. (February 4, 2020) - Keisha Pelote, 33, of Manchester, Kentucky, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday, before U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom, to introduction of contraband to an inmate in federal prison.
Pelote admitted that on September 14, 2019, she went to FCI Manchester to visit her husband, an inmate at the prison. According to her plea agreement, she told facility staff that she wished to change in her car, and a correctional officer observed her engaging in suspicious activity in the car. A K-9 unit alerted officers to the presence of narcotics in the car; and upon search, the officers found 270 unopened buprenorphine and naloxone strips in the car. Pelote admitted that she also had 20 unopened strips of the same substances on her person.
Pelote was indicted in September 2019.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and John Gilley, Warden of FCI Manchester, announced the guilty plea.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Prisons with the assistance of the Department of Homeland Security. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Rabold.
Pelote is scheduled to be sentenced on May 19, 2020. She faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
— END —
