Prison Love Letters' Stamps Used to Smuggle Drugs: Detectives
A Florida woman has been charged with sending drugs to her boyfriend behind bars by hiding them under postage stamps on the envelopes she mailed to him.
Sarah Laurito, 18, admitted to sending her locked-up lover Suboxone, a drug used to treat opioid drug dependence, in at least three drug-laced letters. First Coast News reports that Laurito actually "turned herself into the Marion County Jail" last Monday, and she is currently out on bond.
Since the alleged letter scheme was stamped out, what will happen to the criminal duo now?
Laurito Faces 2nd-Degree Felony
Smuggling anything that's considered contraband to prisoners is a crime in Florida, but it's especially true of controlled substances (read: drugs). Even for sneaking an inmate a cell phone, a Florida defendant may face up to five years in prison. Unluckily for teenage Laurito, she may be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison if convicted of sneaking her boyfriend the Suboxone.
Suboxone, for those who have never met a heroin addict, is available in sublingual film that can be administered by placing a small strip of it underneath a user's tongue. When used properly, it can help recovering addicts to treat opioid dependence (heroin, many prescription pain pills, etc.). It's also commonly used by drug addicts as a substitute for their drug of choice or to reduce the effects of withdrawal. It's like a prescription strength Listerine strip for addicts.
That's probably what was going through Laurito's boyfriend's head when he allegedly instructed her via phone (through a series of artful euphemisms) to sneakily send him the Suboxone. The Orlando Sentinel reports he told Laurito "he really wanted a 'sub' behind the food stamp office 'when you write me a letter.'" Laurito was eventually questioned about the letters by jail officials and she confessed.
Her age and willingness to cooperate with law enforcement may save her from spending the next 15 years in prison.
Boyfriend May Not Be So Lucky
Not only will Laurito's prison love, 25-year-old Jeremy Weber, not be getting more Suboxone-laden letters, but he now faces the same charge as his girlfriend for introducing a controlled substance into the Marion County Jail. Weber may think jail is bad, but a felony conviction may get him transferred to prison -- which is much different.
Hopefully this experience is enough to get Laurito to start seeing other people.
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Related Resources:
- Florida Woman's Plan To Send Drugs To Her Jailed Beau Backfires: Cops (The Huffington Post)
- Mom French-Kisses Son in Jail to Smuggle Drugs (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
- Guards Busted Over Prison Cell Phone Smuggling (FindLaw's Blotter)
- Heroin Burrito Gets Deputy 2 Years in Jail (FindLaw's Blotter)