Dana L. Johnson, 27, of Seward was arrested Sept. 6 for allegedly smuggling a cell phone to an inmate at the Lincoln Correctional Center.
Johnson, a case worker at the LCC, was cited for unlawful acts by a corrections employee—a Class 4 felony—and lodged in the Lancaster County Jail.
At 6:01 p.m., a Nebraska State Patrol trooper was dispatched to the facility at the request of a Department of Corrections investigator to arrest an employee.
The investigator discovered that Johnson had brought in contraband and provided it to multiple inmates between July 1 and Sept. 6. Johnson created a fake ‘Jpay’ account under a false name in order to communicate with an inmate. The investigator determined through inmate interviews that Johnson had become “involved” with the inmate and given him a cell phone she smuggled into the facility, along with another cell phone given to another inmate.
During an interview with the investigator, Johnson admitted to giving the cell phone to the first inmate and also to delivering a package she knew contained contraband to a third inmate. The package contained illegal drugs Johnson picked up from the inmate’s wife, for which she was compensated $700. The delivery was caught on video camera on Aug. 30.
An appearance bond was set at 10% of $10,000 and filed Sept. 9. A hearing is set for 10 a.m. on Oct. 7 in Lancaster County Court.
