Miami County woman trying to smuggle narcotics busted by new jail body scanner

A Miami County woman will face additional criminal charges after the Wayne County Jail's new body scanner exposed narcotics she was trying to smuggle into the facility.

>> Greene County Jail first in Miami Valley with body scanner

Krystal LeMaster, 32, of Potsdam was at the courthouse Tuesday for a scheduled appearance on an outstanding warrant for failure to appear for a misdemeanor conversion charge.

She didn't resist when jail officers searched with the scanner during the book-in process, but the machine exposed the fact she was carrying a controlled substance.

The substance was the opioid Suboxone in tablet form.

"I am disappointed that someone would still attempt to smuggle contraband into the Jail now that we have the body scanner in use," Wayne County Sheriff Randy Retter said Thursday in a prepared statement. "However, I am very happy with the attention to detail shown by my Jail Staff and the results of this very important security device."

LeMaster remains in jail without bond on the misdemeanor warrant while holding a cash bond of $1,755 on the drug possession charge.

ABOUT THE SCANNER 

According to media reports, The Smith Detections B-Scan was put into use at the Wayne County Jail in late November. The jail now is one of about a dozen in Indiana with a similar scanner.

>> Miami County Jail began using body scanner in October 2018

Sheriff Retter has said a jail bond covered the $138,000 cost of the scanner and training.

Images will be saved to a database for future reference.

One scan's X-ray exposure equates to about a five-hour plane flight at altitude, where someone is closer to the sun. A person could undergo more than 100 scans per year and remain in the acceptable exposure range.

A sheriff's deputy generally will conduct a pat-down to initially screen for weapons or drugs. A more thorough search occurs when people who are arrested are booked into the jail, and an officer might request a strip search if he or she has suspicions.

Anything further, such as X-rays or a cavity search, must be done at Reid Health.

The body scanner gives a head-to-toe image in seven seconds.