Daryl Gus, a 36-year-old resident of Parma, received a four-year federal prison sentence on Tuesday for his involvement in smuggling crystal methamphetamine and various drugs into the Lorain Correctional Institution in Grafton.
Before engaging in illegal activities, Gus had worked at the correctional facility for less than a year.
Gus, who began sneaking drugs into the prison for inmates, including one affiliated with a gang, expressed remorse during the sentencing. Apologizing to his former employer, family, and U.S. District Judge James Gwin, he acknowledged living with regret every day.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Gwin imposed a four-year post-prison supervision period and granted Gus the opportunity to self-report to prison. The judge took into account Gus’ troubled upbringing, which included an abusive father and a mother who used public benefits intended for Gus to buy drugs for herself.
Gus, who experienced childhood abuse from his mother’s boyfriends, carried significant emotional baggage into his role as a prison guard, according to his defense attorney, Fernando Mack.
Judge Gwin, while acknowledging Gus’ challenging upbringing, emphasized the gravity of abusing his position by selling drugs to inmates in need of rehabilitation. He expressed concern over the dangerous consequences of providing substances to inmates struggling with substance abuse and for the safety of the facility as well.
Gus was hired in December 2021 at the Lorain Correctional Institution, where his aunt also worked. A performance evaluation noted that Gus frequently interacted with inmates, with a caution to maintain professionalism and avoid becoming too comfortable.
Following a tip from prison officials, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrested Gus in January 2023. DEA agents discovered that Gus had been smuggling drugs for an inmate convicted of attempted gang activity, drug trafficking, and aggravated burglary.
Unidentified in court documents, the prisoner instructed family members to call from within the prison and send drugs to Gus, paying him $2,000 each time he brought the goods inside the facility. According to court documents, the inmate’s mother left the pills in Gus’ yard in the form of a wishing-well ornament.
On January 30, 2023, DEA agents stopped Gus upon his arrival for work, conducting a search that revealed 31 grams of high-purity methamphetamine and other items concealed inside empty chip bags and a microwave pizza box. Gus resigned on the same day.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Kolansky, investigators had suspicions that Daryl Gus had not limited his drug dealings to a single inmate. However, they lacked precise information regarding the extent of Gus’s activities and whether he had smuggled substances beyond methamphetamine.
Kolansky emphasized the exceptional nature of the case, characterizing it as more than a typical drug-related incident. He stressed the seriousness of Gus’s actions, saying that Gus was employed with the specific responsibility of guarding prisoners and ensuring their safety, a position of trust that he ultimately exploited.
Source: https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2024/01/ex-lorain-prison-guard-sentenced-to-four-years-in-federal-prison-for-smuggling-crystal-meth-to-inmates.html
Photo by Mart Production: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-trading-money-for-drugs-7230318/