United States of America v. Yahaira Cristina Contreras

Providence, Rhode Island criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with Conspiracy to Smuggle Contraband Inside the Wyatt Detention Center

Providence Woman Sentenced in Conspiracy to Smuggle Contraband Inside the Wyatt Detention Center

A Providence woman who previously admitted to a federal judge that she provided contraband that made its way into the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, RI, was sentenced today to two years of federal supervised release, the first six months to be served in home detention with GPS monitoring, and fined $1,500, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.



Yahaira Cristina Contreras, 32, admitted that in early 2021, she conspired with others to provide 201 suboxone strips containing buprenorphine that made its way to a Wyatt Detention Center correctional officer and into the facility. Contreras admitted that she provided the contraband and that she transferred $3,000 from her bank account to another person's account to facilitate getting the suboxone strips inside the Wyatt Detention Center.



Contreras' sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose.



Former Wyatt Detention Center correctional officer Kaii Almeida-Falcones, 30, of Smithfield, pleaded guilty on June 10, 2024, to a charge of providing contraband to an inmate. He was sentenced on November 19, 2024, to six months in federal prison to be followed by twenty-four months of federal supervised release - the first six months to be served on home confinement.



The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ly T. Chin.



The matter was investigated by the FBI, the United States Marshals Service, the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General, and the Professional Standards Unit at the Wyatt Detention Center.