Federal Inmate Sentenced for Possession of Heroin

INDIANAPOLIS—Steven G. Roden, 32, Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute, Indiana, was sentenced to 27 months in prison today by U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney following his guilty plea to possessing contraband in prison, announced Timothy M. Morrison, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Federal Bureau of Prisons.

On January 4, 2009, Federal Correctional Complex inmate Roden was visited by Kimberly M. Clark, at the Federal Correctional Institution component of the institution. During the visit, Clark passed four small balloons from her right hand to his left hand. Roden then swallowed the balloons. Based upon the observations of this conduct by Bureau of Prisons staff, Roden was placed in a dry cell status. Approximately four days later, Roden passed the balloons. A field test, and later laboratory tests, indicated that the balloons contained heroin.

In a statement to officers shortly after the event, Roden admitted knowingly receiving the contraband. In a later statement to the FBI, he admitted anticipating that the balloons would contain heroin. Clark has pled guilty to providing the heroin to Roden and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 24, 2010.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney James M. Warden, who prosecuted the case for the government, Judge McKinney also imposed three years supervised release following Roden’s release from prison.