CITIZEN STAFF REPORT

BECKLEY, W.Va. — A former federal correctional officer from Beaver, West Virginia, received a prison sentence of 18 months followed by three years of supervised release on Thursday for smuggling contraband to federal inmates.

Cody Adam Bays, 32, was sentenced Thursday by United States District Judge Frank W. Volk in Beckley.

Court records reveal that from Nov. 7, 2022, to Feb. 14, 2023, while working as a correctional officer at Federal Correctional Institution Beckley, Bays delivered prohibited items to inmates.

Bays confessed to distributing various controlled substances such as suboxone, marijuana, synthetic marijuana and tobacco. He also tried to bring fentanyl into the prison, but after using some himself, he suffered a serious overdose.

From these illegal activities, Bays gained $20,800, receiving payments via cash or mobile payment apps. His involvement in this scheme linked him to a multi-state drug trafficking network that used sophisticated electronic money transfers to facilitate the sale of illegal drugs within the federal prison system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian D. Parsons, with United States Attorney Will Thompson acknowledging the efforts of the U.S. Department of Justice-Office of Inspector General in the investigation.