‘Send a message’: Prosecutors argue prison for former Leavenworth corrections officer
Federal prosecutors want a former correctional officer to spend up to 37 months behind bars for smuggling contraband to inmates while she was employed at the CoreCivic detention facility in Leavenworth.
In a sentencing memorandum filed Monday, U.S. Attorneys Rebecca Schuman and Jacob Steiner wrote that the crimes committed by 29-year-old Cheyonte Harris “placed the lives of inmates and prison staff at risk” and “diminished confidence in law enforcement.” They contend Harris deserves “a meaningful term of imprisonment” for abusing the public trust.
“The sentence in this case should be sufficiently serious to deter future public officials from similarly putting their self-interest above loyalty to the law and the safety of others,” the prosecutors wrote, adding that the sentence “should send a message that the job of a corrections officer is one that requires integrity.”
Harris, of Raytown, pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and smuggle contraband, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. She admitted that she brought illegal items, including tobacco, to inmates in the maximum-security prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI. According to court records, Harris received an estimated $8,565 in payments through the electronic CashApp between January 2020 and June 2021 as bribes.
Harris was regularly paid about $100 for each pack of cigarettes she smuggled in for an incarcerated person, who then sold them to other prisoners. That prisoner in turn received about $350 for each pack sold, according to court records.
Harris was also accused of making false statements to FBI agents when she was interviewed in April 2021. She allegedly told investigators that she did not have a Cash App account and made changes to the account in an effort to conceal the crime.
Harris later admitted to taking bribes on 20 separate occasions, court records show.
In arguing for a sentence of probation, defense attorney Gary D. Stone asked the court to consider that Harris has no criminal history outside of traffic tickets and was enlisted with the Missouri National Guard for six years. He also wrote that Harris worked in a “toxic” environment as a correctional officer where prisoners openly violated the rules, alleging misconduct was frequently ignored by prison supervisors.
“The past year has been a nightmare for Cheyonte Harris,” Stone wrote in the memo. “She lost her job, she was arrested and interrogated, she lost the trust of many friends as a result of her actions.”
Harris is one of six correctional officers from CoreCivic, the nation’s largest private prison operator, who have faced federal charges within the past 7 months related to official misconduct at the Leavenworth facility. Others include corrections officers and a prison nurse who was allegedly paid to bring cell phones and tobacco products to inmates.
A sentencing hearing for Harris is scheduled to take place May 17 in the Kansas City, Kansas federal courthouse.
This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 8:01 AM.
