A 43-year-old Louisville woman is facing felony charges after officials say she tried to sneak drugs into the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections for a man locked up on a murder charge. Kimberly Stayton was arrested and charged with promoting contraband, drug trafficking, and forgery after a suspicious envelope addressed to an inmate was intercepted, according to court records.
Jefferson District Judge Mary Jude Wolford set Stayton's bond at $10,000 during her initial court appearance on Wednesday, as reported by WDRB. Court records show the intercepted package contained 21 strips of Suboxone. Stayton has a preliminary hearing scheduled for September 3, according to WLKY.
Package Was Allegedly Meant for Jailed Murder Suspect
The envelope was intended for 40-year-old Jesse Galloway, who is currently held at LMDC awaiting trial on a murder charge, per WLKY's reporting. Louisville Metro Corrections officials said Wednesday that Galloway is expected to face additional charges of complicity to trafficking in a controlled substance and complicity to promoting contraband in connection with the intercepted package, according to WHAS11. The station reports that officials opened the investigation after the suspicious envelope was flagged en route to the inmate.
The station's report notes that the investigation into the mailed package was conducted jointly by LMDC's Professional Standards Unit and the United States Postal Inspection Service, reflecting how federal postal inspectors assist local jails when illegal substances are suspected of moving through the mail. Galloway is next due in court on October 23, according to WLKY.
The 2021 Killing Behind Galloway's Detention
Galloway was arrested in April under an indictment warrant in the murder case, per WHAS11's earlier coverage. The indictment came nearly four years after the shooting it stems from.
The case centers on the death of Jaqurius “Cory” Bettison, a 21-year-old, according to WLKY's reporting. Bettison was shot in the leg in October 2021 and died weeks later, WLKY reported.
How Kentucky Law Treats Jail Drug Smuggling
Under Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 520.050, amended effective July 15, 2024, promoting contraband in the first degree is normally a Class D felony carrying one to five years in prison, but the charge escalates to a Class B felony if the contraband involves fentanyl or fentanyl derivatives, according to Justia Law. Kentucky's House Bill 5, known as the Safer Kentucky Act and passed in 2024, designates Class C felony violations of first-degree promoting contraband under violent offender provisions, subjecting those convicted to stricter parole eligibility rules, per John Olash Law.
It remains unclear what relationship, if any, Stayton had with Galloway, and the exact timing of the formal complicity charges against him has not been finalized.
A Recurring Problem at the Downtown Jail
To limit physical drug contraband from reaching inmates, LMDC routes non-legal mail to a third-party processing center in Florida, where letters and postcards are digitally scanned so inmates can view them without receiving the physical paper, according to Penmate. WHAS11 reported a 2022 case involving narcotics disguised as fraudulent legal mail.
The stakes of drug smuggling inside LMDC go beyond contraband charges. In response to recurring overdose threats inside the jail, Narcan was placed in all 51 LMDC dorms, and 24 overdoses were reversed inside the facility, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.
