A former correctional officer with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office has been charged with involvement in the fatal 2023 fentanyl overdose of an inmate in a Nashville jail, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) confirmed on Friday.
The police investigation into the circumstances behind the fatal overdose of 18-year-old Daniel Prisco at the Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility on Harding Place resulted in six arrests, according to the department, which revealed four of the accused are inmates at the jail.
Among those accused of being part of a network to smuggle drugs into the jail and distribute them is Charles Kelley, a former correctional officer with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office who MNPD reported was working for the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office at the time of his arrest.
Kelley (pictured above) is accused of conspiring to commit second-degree murder, engaging in fentanyl delivery conspiracy, fentanyl delivery, conspiracy to deliver contraband into a jail or prison, and actually delivering the contraband.
The MNPD press release announcing the arrests explains law enforcement allegedly discovered a “network of inmates and two others who conspired to introduce drugs into the jail system and distribute them,” in an investigation that began after the cause of death for Prisco was determined.
The scheme allegedly involved inmates Emmanual Webb, William Sigsby, and Joshua Young, as well as Matthew Calhoun, who MNPD explained is now housed at the Bledsoe County Correctional Facility.
According to a police press release, Devin Popejoy, a 28-year-old “female associate” of Webb, is accused of “having set up drug-related telephone conference calls between Webb and third parties during his jailhouse calls to her.”
Fentanyl overdoses continue to rise in Tennessee, with the Metro Public Health Department in May warning it was recording an unusually high number. At the time, a spokesman said virtually all fatal overdoses in Nashville involve fentanyl.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) explains that just two milligrams of fentanyl are enough to cause a fatal overdose in the average adult. According to the DEA, over 40 percent of fentanyl pills encountered by the agency contain this fatal dose.
Earlier this year, the results of a study suggested those seeking to smuggle fentanyl into the United States over its southern border are increasingly disguising their illicit goods as fake prescription pills.
Meanwhile, experts have warned those seeking to illegally cross the border could be addicted to the synthetic opioid.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Charles Kelley” by Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
