ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — Two people face drug charges after trying to smuggle methamphetamine into the Rowan County Detention Center on March 22.
According to a release from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, a package came to the detention center addressed to an inmate named Keith Furr and looked like it had been mailed from a local attorney’s office.
Deputies say the secretary called a detention center supervisor, who took the package and put it through the X-ray machine at the courthouse entrance but found nothing. The attorney whose office was on the package was called, but they told deputies that Furr was not a client.
Officials asked the attorney to open the package to see what was inside; once opened, they found three pieces of paper and an empty envelope.
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Deputies contacted a detective who came and tested the paper from the package; the test showed that there was methamphetamine in the box. After a report was made, the case was given to the criminal investigations unit.
During their investigation, detectives said another possible suspect may be Donna Lea Mullis, who was scheduled to appear in court on different matters.
The detectives said they didn’t arrest Mullis; she agreed to speak with them. While being interviewed, detectives said Mullis admitted to forging legal papers and putting the attorney’s name on them; she also admitted to putting methamphetamine on the papers before sending them to the detention center.
Mullis was charged on May 4 with identity theft, trafficking heroin or opium, possession of methamphetamine, and failure to appear in court on an unrelated matter. Detectives placed Mullis in jail on a $70,000 secured bond.
Furr was charged on May 10 with possession with intent to manufacture a controlled substance and trafficking heroin or opium. He was given a $100,000 secured bond.
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