Man, inmate charged with using drone to smuggle drugs into California jail

Friday, September 17, 2021
ORANGE, Calif. -- A man from Costa Mesa, California who was living under a stolen identity and a female inmate have been charged with using a drone to smuggle drugs into a jail in Orange.

Chey Cody Smart, 41, and Megan Elizabeth Donovan, 31, of Fountain Valley, were charged with one count of smuggling controlled substances into a correctional facility and one felony count of conspiracy to commit a crime, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office.
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The drone is suspected of carrying heroin, methamphetamine, Xanax and muscle relaxers into the Theo Lacy Facility on Sunday.

Detectives say an inmate worker found the drone in a grass area inside the jail a few days after, leading to Smart's arrest that same day.

Donovan, who was previously convicted for bringing drugs into a correctional facility, is accused of using a jailhouse phone to help direct Smart on where to fly and land the drone. She faces a maximum sentence of five years if convicted on all charges.
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Smart is accused of being in possession of meth, cocaine, Xanax, fentanyl and heroin, along with several rifles, as well as using an assumed identity to rent a Costa Mesa apartment and buy a 2018 BMW, according to prosecutors.

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