March 18, 2024

Ex-Iowa prison guards accused of illegal drug use at work

CEDAR RAPIDS (AP) — Four former prison guards at a maximum security penitentiary in eastern Iowa used illegal drugs while armed at work, and one smuggled in cellphones for inmates, a state U.S. attorney said Tuesday in announcing charges.

Kevin W. Techau, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, said Garrett Barton, Ethan Darrow, Marques Maryland and Seth Vogel are charged in connection with activity while on the job at Anamosa State Penitentiary in 2014. Prosecutors say the men used illegal drugs while armed with assault rifles and on guard tower duty.

Public documents say Barton used marijuana and prescription controlled substances that were not prescribed to him. Darrow is accused of using marijuana, cocaine and prescription controlled substances. Prosecutors say Barton, Darrow and Vogel traded drugs.

Barton and Darrow, both 29 and from nearby Anamosa, each face one count in federal court of being an unlawful drug user in possession of firearms. Darrow entered a guilty plea on Monday.

Barton is scheduled to plead guilty on Oct. 13 to the charges he faces, which includes suspicion of smuggling cellphones to inmates in exchange for money.

Maryland, 38 and from Cedar Rapids, and Vogel, 28 and from Marion, have agreed to plead guilty to state charges of possessing controlled substances.

A fifth man who was not employed at the prison, Samuel Foster, 29, is accused of providing Barton with drugs and conspiring with him to sell marijuana to Maryland. Foster, of North Liberty, is charged with being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm. He appeared in federal court on Monday and is being detained. Messages left for his attorney were not immediately returned Tuesday night.