A Providence woman has been sentenced for her role in a conspiracy to smuggle contraband into the Wyatt Detention Center. Yahaira Cristina Contreras, 32, admitted to conspiring with others in early 2021 to provide 201 suboxone strips containing buprenorphine to a correctional officer at the facility. The contraband was successfully smuggled inside the detention center.
Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom announced that Contreras will serve two years of federal supervised release, with the first six months under home detention and GPS monitoring. Additionally, she has been fined $1,500. U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose imposed the sentence.
The investigation revealed that Contreras transferred $3,000 from her bank account to another person's account as part of the scheme to facilitate getting the suboxone strips into the facility.
In a related case, former Wyatt Detention Center correctional officer Kaii Almeida-Falcones pleaded guilty on June 10, 2024, to providing contraband to an inmate. He was sentenced on November 19, 2024, to six months in federal prison followed by twenty-four months of federal supervised release; he will spend the first six months on home confinement.
Assistant United States Attorney Ly T. Chin prosecuted these cases following investigations by multiple agencies including the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General.
