WASHINGTON COUNTY, MD - A rookie correctional officer has been arrested after investigators say she smuggled marijuana and cigarettes to inmates at RCI.

Here is the full media release from the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services:

"A 22-year old correctional officer from Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI) near Hagerstown has been charged with bringing marijuana and tobacco into the prison, allegedly in an attempt to deliver it to inmates.

Alert and conscientious work by RCI officers and intelligence unit investigators led to the discovery of the contraband inside a staff restroom at the prison on Thursday. The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) Internal Investigative Unit reports that Officer Krista Blank of Mount Savage has been charged with possessing marijuana and contraband, and with possessing the materials with the intent to distribute them inside a place of confinement. The officer faces a total of four charges, the total penalty for which would be up to ten years in prison if she is found guilty.

The Division of Correction and all DPSCS correctional divisions have dramatically increased training, security, and intelligence efforts to combat the introduction of contraband into their facilities. All of these efforts played a role in yesterday’s discovery of the packages of marijuana and tobacco at Roxbury.

In addition to strong penalties for weapons, implements of escape, and distribution of controlled dangerous substances, Maryland law now provides for a penalty of up to three years in prison and a $1,000 fine for anyone, staff or visitor, who is convicted of trying to smuggle any contraband, including cell phones, into correctional facilities.

Correctional officers at Roxbury are to be commended for their excellent investigative and security efforts which led to the arrest of the officer."