Denell C. Clark, 37, of Fortville, was arrested Tuesday by Boone County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigators for trafficking with an inmate, a Level 5 felony. Clark was a medical nurse, employed by Quality Correctional Care, LLC a medical contractor for the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.
On Monday around 1:45 p.m., Sheriff Mike Nielsen and Sheriff’s Office Correctional Staff began to notice behavioral changes. in some inmates during normal daily interaction. Sheriff Nielsen notified command staff and investigators who then opened up an internal investigation in reference to the abnormal behavior. It was found that four inmates were suspected of being under the influence of an unknown substance. During the course of the evening, after interviewing several inmates and jail staff it was determined that Clark distributed 15-20 2mg Xanax bars to an inmate in “F” Block. During the interviews Clark confessed to Boone County Investigators and stated she brought the pills in from the outside. At this time it is unclear the reasons why the illegal trafficking took place, financial gain, emotional manipulation and sympathy are possible rationale.
Sheriff Mike Nielsen and Detective Sam Scott placed Dennel Clark under arrest for trafficking with an inmate. Her bond is set at $10,000 cash or $1000 surety. Notification was made to Quality Correctional Care, LLC who then immediately terminated Clark. Additional charges are pending for the four inmates after further consultation with the Boone County Prosecutors Office.
Sheriff Nielsen stated: “Our mission is steadfast and we will continue to follow our value points of Integrity, Leadership, Loyalty, Professionalism and Commitment. It makes no difference if you are a full time employee, part time employee, sworn employee, civilian employee, volunteer or a contracted vendor; we are all held to higher standards when working in this profession. In today’s society it is unfortunate that we have to deal with these types of situations in our profession but they happen. When they do, we have proven that we take immediate and swift action and hold those responsible accountable. There are inmates that will continue to emotionally manipulate staff members to benefit themselves. As I have said in the past, no one is held above the law and in this profession we are held to a higher standard. Our relationship with Quality Correctional Care, LLC is not affected by this incident. They have cooperated fully in this investigation. A thank you goes out to my dedicated staff in the Corrections division and the Investigations division as well as Probation, Community Corrections and the Prosecutors Office for bringing this to a quick resolution.”