On December 18, 2024, Vernell Syrethia Lawson, 33, a former Miami-Dade Correctional Officer, and Gabrielle Nicole Bess-Mills, 35, appeared in court following an unsealed indictment accusing them of involvement in a criminal enterprise led by Terrance Carter, 31.
The indictment alleges that Carter operated a drug trafficking organization that relied on the corruption of Lawson and other Miami-Dade Correctional Officers, as well as associates, to smuggle narcotics and contraband into Miami-Dade County jail facilities for sale.
Lawson and Bess-Mills face charges of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute, and racketeering through bribery and drug trafficking. Lawson is also charged with Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right conspiracy. Carter faces charges of operating the criminal enterprise and using interstate facilities to commit violence in furtherance of racketeering.
The defendants, all residents of Miami-Dade County, were identified in a joint investigation by the Miami-Dade Police Department and Corrections Department Task Force, with support from federal, state, and local agencies.
The investigation was announced by U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, alongside officials from the Miami-Dade Police Department, Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department, FBI Miami Division, DEA Miami Field Division, and the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ignacio J. Vázquez, Jr. and Trial Attorney Melanie G. Wegner are prosecuting the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika Miranda overseeing asset forfeiture.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.