Photo: Amanda Johnson and Joleen Mata
Ventura County – According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. John Hajducko, the custody staff at the county’s Todd Road Jail Classification Unit is “committed to the security” all jail facilities and to “the safety of all staff and inmates.”
Pursuant to that, deputies attached to the Classification Unit are consistent in “a proactive approach to investigating crimes that occur within the custody environment,” as well as any illegal activity outside the jail system affecting that custody environment. One of the ways the safety and security of everyone involved is maintained is through constant monitoring of mail arriving at the jail facilities.
That monitoring protocol is what inspired a month-long narcotics investigation into the postal activities of 30-year-old Amanda Johnson and 39-year-old Joleen Mata, both residents of Santa Paula. On July 19, 2019, “altered items of mail” were detected addressed to Johnson who was an inmate at the Todd Road facility. Cards and envelopes—mailed to Johnson by Mata—were determined to contain “Suboxone strips” implanted within them.
Over the next month, between July 19th and August 13th, three more pieces of mail were discovered addressed to Johnson, all of which contained Suboxone strips. As described by Hajducko, “Suboxone is a Schedule III prescription medication” which can produce a euphoric effect akin to that of illegal opioid drugs.
Detectives made contact with Mata on August 28th and took her into custody. She was transported to Ventura County Jail. Both Mata and Johnson were charged with criminal conspiracy and bringing narcotics into a detention facility where they are held without bail.
Photos: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
