Alameda County Sheriff Office Employee Charged With Smuggling Meth, Phone Into Santa Rita Jail

DUBLIN (CBS SF) -- An Alameda County Sheriff's Office technician has been arrested for allegedly smuggling a phone and methamphetamine to an inmate at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.

The district attorney's office said Wednesday it filed multiple counts against the technician, Shannon Taylor, and against inmate Leonard Jones who is awaiting trial on murder charges.

Taylor was arrested on June 17 following an extensive investigation that revealed she brought a cell phone and methamphetamine to the jail on multiple occasions, and that Jones planned to sell the meth in jail and split the proceeds with Taylor, the DAs office said.

"Shannon Taylor's actions not only violate the law, but also the trust the public places in those working withing the justice system," said District Attorney Nancy O'Malley in a press statement. "My Office will ensure that both defendants are held to account. They not only broke the law, but also put the health and safety of inmates and staff at the jail at risk. It is deeply troubling that an employee of the Sheriff's Office engaged in this degree of criminal conduct, and I commend the excellent investigation that uncovered the crimes."

Jones is expected to be arraigned on this new case on Friday. In 2016, Jones was convicted of attempted murder for a 2013 San Leandro shooting, but not yet sentenced, when he was then charged with the murder of a woman in Oakland two months prior. The woman was shot dead while sitting in a parked car while her 4-year-old son watched from the backseat.

Taylor is out of custody and expected to be arraigned on August 14.