Food workers at Hays State arrested for drugs, sex
Two Aramark employees were arrested earlier this month amid allegations they brought forbidden pleasures to Hays State Prison inmates.
Diego Luis Vega, 40, was arrested Dec. 5 on two counts of bringing in items prohibited by the warden, as well as one charge of trading with inmates. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Vega sold illegal drugs and tobacco to inmates. The affidavit does not say how the inmate paid Vega.
He also brought a handgun inside the prison’s guard line without Warden Kevin Sprayberry’s permission, according to the affidavit.
Another employee, 48-year-old Keitha Michele Vaughan, admitted to having sex with an inmate on Nov. 26 and Dec. 3, according to an affidavit. The inmate is 23 years old and serving a two-decade sentence for voluntary manslaughter. Vaughan is charged with sexual assault by a person in a supervisory or disciplinary authority, which carries a sentence of one to 25 years.
Aramark provides food
to Hays State Prison. Karen Cutler, a spokeswoman for the company, said the Georgia Department of Corrections does background checks on each worker at the prison. The agency also provides security clearance for the workers.
“We have zero tolerance for inappropriate conduct and immediately terminated Ms. Vaughn’s employment,” Cutler said in a statement. “Mr. Vega had resigned from the company prior to his arrest; he is awaiting trial.”
Vega’s charges carry sentences of one to 10 years in prison. He was arrested Dec. 5 and left the Chattooga County Jail on a $7,500 bond. Vaughan was arrested Dec. 7 and left the same day on a bond of $2,500.