Three individuals have confessed to smuggling methamphetamine and fentanyl into the Lincoln County Jail in Missouri. Among those who admitted guilt are a former inmate and a former jail employee.
Kevin Childers Jr., aged 37, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. Steven Williamson Jr., 36, and Brittany Spangler, 35, also pleaded guilty to the same charge, with Williamson entering his plea in May and Spangler in March.
At the time of the crime, Williamson was an inmate working as a trustee in the jail's kitchen. Spangler was his girlfriend. Childers worked as a contract employee managing the jail kitchen. According to their plea agreements, all three were involved in drug activities within Lincoln County during this period.
The trio admitted to conspiring to smuggle drugs into the jail from June 27, 2022, through October 6, 2022. Phone records show that Spangler and Childers communicated multiple times between September 24 and October 2 of that year. By early October, Williamson had acquired a cell phone from another former trustee. He used it to instruct Spangler on obtaining drugs and arranging for Childers to smuggle them into the facility. Their text messages revealed discussions about acquiring drugs and handling payments.
On October 6, jail officials discovered a contraband cell phone within the trustee pod during a search prompted by an alert. They found not only the phone but also a piece of paper bearing Childers' phone number and first name. In addition, Williamson was found with a sock containing nearly ten grams of methamphetamine and two capsules of fentanyl.
Sentencing dates have been set for each individual: Childers on October 1; Spangler in July; and Williamson in August.
The offense carries potential penalties of up to twenty years imprisonment, fines reaching $1 million, or both.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI alongside the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug.
