Former MDOC Correctional Officers Sentenced to 30 Years for Smuggling Drugs into Prison
RANKIN, MS - Madison and Rankin Counties’ District Attorney John K. Bramlett, Jr., announced today that 30-year-old Somalia Moneisha Funchess of Magee, Mississippi, and 26-year-old Aaliyah Keyonna Reid of Carthage, Mississippi, were each sentenced to serve thirty (30) years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC).
The State resolved both cases without trial after the former MDOC correctional officers pleaded guilty. Funchess pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Transfer ten (10) grams or more but less than thirty (30) grams of Methamphetamine. Reid pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Transfer ten (10) grams or more but less than thirty (30) grams of MDMB-4en-PINACA.
On September 14, 2024, then-MDOC correctional officers Funchess and Reid conspired to introduce a substantial quantity of illegal drugs and other contraband into the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. According to investigators with the MDOC Corrections Investigation Division (CID), Reid and Funchess concealed drugs and carried them into the facility. Reid placed the drugs into a trash bag and delivered it to a MDOC inmate. Correctional officials intercepted the trash bag, which contained a large quantity of suspected controlled substances.
Testing by Mississippi Forensics Laboratory identified the substances as methamphetamine and MDMB-4en-PINACA, a Schedule I controlled substance and synthetic cannabinoid commonly referred to as “Spice.”
Funchess admitted that she was paid $500, while Reid admitted that she was paid $400 to bring contraband into the facility.
“Contraband and related criminal activity threaten the security of our facilities, undermine rehabilitation, and hinder successful reentry,” said MDOC Corrections Investigation Division Director Steven Maxwell. “Through strong partnerships with law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, CID will continue to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who compromise the safety and integrity of Mississippi’s correctional system.”
District Attorney Bramlett stated, “For a few hundred dollars, these two correctional officers used positions of trust to bring dangerous drugs behind prison walls. These were not harmless substances. Methamphetamine and Spice can cause serious injury and death, and their actions threatened the safety and security of inmates and correctional officers alike. I commend the MDOC officers and MDOC Corrections Investigation Division for their outstanding work in uncovering this conduct and building the case that allowed us to hold these guards accountable for abusing their positions for profit.”
Defendants:
Name: FUNCHESS, Somalia Moneisha
Date of Birth: 04/09/1996
Name: REID, Aaliyah Keyonna
Date of Birth: 11/03/1999
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