Durham woman linked to scheme involving synthetic marijuana that's killed inmates across US
A synthetic marijuana drug is linked to prison deaths nationwide.
This week, we’re learning a woman in Durham is accused of operating a scheme, sending the same drug to inmates around the country.
Many people have died nationwide from a synthetic marijuana drug known as K2 Spice that is gaining in popularity. The drug is making its way into prisons, too.
K2 is a synthetic version of THC, a primary ingredient in marijuana. K2 use is among the top killers of inmates in Florida.
This week, we’ve learned that a Durham woman is accused of being part of the pervasive issue of sneaking the drug to prisoners around the country via laced documents.
Investigators say a house on Da Vinci Street in Durham is the home base for a scheme that put dangerous drugs into inmates' hands.
According to a search warrant, the scheme was run by the owner of the home, Cenda Crawford, and her son, Donovan Crawford, who is a prisoner in Victorville, California.
A search warrant returned Wednesday details the case. It said the mother worked with her son to run the operation.
She would mail prisoners what appeared to be legal documents so they wouldn’t be searched. The documents were fake, and were dipped in K2.
The mom has not been charged. Per a warrant, the son took the fall for her to prevent her being charged.
Detective Andrews with Durham County Sheriff's Office was contacted in April by a federal investigator in California about the case. An investigator told Andrews that “the Federal prisons were experiencing an influx of mail and fake legal documents being sent to the prisons that were infused with synthetic drugs.” The investigator went on to say that a California prisoner was communicating with his mom in Durham and both were involved in the scheme.
The investigator discovered that the son would take orders from inmates and the mother would acquire what the inmates needed and send them by mail through fake legal documents. The mother would sometimes disguise the mail as it were coming from a law firm.
On Tuesday, Johnston County District Attorney Susan Doyle confirmed an inmate who died at Johnston Correctional Institution in 2021 was found unresponsive after smoking K2.
