An attempt to smuggle drugs into the Mohave County Adult Detention Center in Kingman was shut down at the point of intake Tuesday. Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Anita Mortensen said the discovery came at 5:00 p.m. when Jennifer Malynda Sparks, 38, Lake Havasu City was being processed and booked into the facility in Kingman.
“A body scan of Sparks revealed a foreign object and during interviews with staff Sparks admitted to swallowing the items three days before surrendering herself to ‘serve her time,'” Mortensen said. Sparks was transported to Kingman Regional Medical Center while authorities sought a search warrant enabling hospital staff to scan cavities for suspected drugs.
“During scans doctors began worrying about Spark’s heart rate and a dose of Narcan was administered, which had a positive effect,” Mortensen said. “At approximately 9:00 p.m. emergency room staff discovered a large amount of pills in Spark’s stomach and an emergency procedure was conducted to remove the items.”
Mortensen said three baggies were removed from Spark’s stomach and that there was no initial indication of what type of drugs they contained.
Sheriff Doug Schuster said he was pleased that detection efforts paid off in this instance, since security protocols have ramped up due to drug overdoses that sent five jail inmates to the hospital on April 16.
“Inmates will go to great lengths to try and circumvent the system,” the sheriff said. “We must remain ever diligent to ensure the safety of the facility, our staff, and the inmate population.”
