Two inmates charged after suspected fentanyl found inside Marshall County jail

FOX23 News at 9 p.m

MARSHALL COUNTY, Ky., (KBSI) — Two inmates are facing additional felony charges after authorities say suspected fentanyl was brought into the Marshall County Detention Center and distributed to other inmates.

The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office said narcotics detectives and deputies responded to the detention center Aug. 7 after receiving a report of suspected fentanyl inside the facility.

According to the sheriff’s office, deputy jailers received an anonymous tip that suspected fentanyl had been brought into the female housing area during the intake of two inmates.

Jail staff recovered approximately 3 gross grams of suspected fentanyl from two women identified as 45-year-old Darlyn P. Allen and 24-year-old Sarah Bross-West, both of Georgia.

Investigators said Allen and Bross-West were already being held in connection with a recent fentanyl trafficking case in Marshall County.

According to the sheriff’s office, both women admitted to concealing the suspected fentanyl on their bodies when they entered the secured facility. Authorities said they also admitted to using the substance inside the jail, trafficking it to other inmates and planning to distribute it among neighboring cells.

Following the discovery, detention center staff screened inmates in the jail pod for drugs. Authorities said six of the eight inmates housed in the cell tested positive for fentanyl.

One inmate also showed signs consistent with a suspected overdose and required additional monitoring, according to the sheriff’s office.

Jail staff secured the suspected narcotics, searched the facility and arranged medical evaluations and follow-up care for inmates.

Allen and Bross-West were each charged with first-offense trafficking in a controlled substance involving carfentanil or fentanyl derivatives and promoting contraband involving fentanyl, carfentanil or derivatives. Both charges are Class C felonies.