Lawsuit targets alleged prison drug ring
After overdose death, officials accused of failures
GRAND RAPIDS – The family of a Charlotte man who died of a drug overdose at a state prison has filed a lawsuit alleging his death was connected to a drug smuggling ring in the prison.
Seth Zakora, 21, died from a drug overdose Jan. 22, 2017, in the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater.
Another inmate had asked corrections officers to check on Zakora the night before his death because there appeared to be something wrong with him, according to the lawsuit. The officers allegedly never checked on Zakora.
That morning, Zakora was found dead in his bunk, covered by his bed sheets. His was the third overdose in three days in his prison unit, and the first fatal one.
At the time of his death, drugs were “in abundance and being smuggled” into the prison, allegedly orchestrated by a female corrections officer and a prisoner with whom she had a romantic relationship with, according to the lawsuit. Another inmate had informed inspectors of the drug smuggling ring on more than one occasion, according to the lawsuit, and gave details of how the drugs were coming in and who provided them.
The inspectors did not investigate the claim, according to the lawsuit. Nor did prison administrators who knew of the overdoses, but did not order a full investigation until after Zakora’s death, according to the lawsuit.
Michigan Department of Corrections spokesperson Chris Gautz said the department investigates all unexpected deaths, but could not release the report from the investigation into Zakora’s death because the Internal Affairs file is exempt from disclosure.
Gautz said corrections officers do a great job watching for and stopping contraband from being smuggled into prisons.
“They are trained, along with our medical staff, to assist prisoners who may be overdosing and have saved countless lives because of their diligent work,” Gautz said.
The last overdose death at Lakeland was nearly two decades ago, he said. In the past 10 years, 13 people have died from drug overdoses in state prisons.
While in segregation, Zakora told his grandmother he feared for his life, and that drugs were coming in from the outside, according to the lawsuit. He was afraid he wouldn’t make it out alive.
When the prison was swept after Zakora’s death, a Michigan State Police K9 indicated to its handlers that there were drugs in Zakora’s former unit.
The lawsuit alleges that three Michigan State Police troopers were either involved in the drug smuggling ring or in a cover up of the ring, and did not investigate it properly.
Michigan State Police spokesperson Lori Dougovito said of the three troopers named in the lawsuit, two retired in good standing and one was still with the department.
Dougovito confirmed MSP was involved in the investigation into Zakora’s death. She declined to comment further about the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges an inmate was charged and convicted of dealing a controlled substance “to avoid an internal investigation of the accusations against the corrections officer involved.”
As a part of a plea deal that inmate Kyle Witek agreed to, prosecutors agreed not to charge him with Zakora’s death, according to the Coldwater Daily Reporter. Witek had 28 months to 14 years added to his sentence of about four years to 22 years for burning property, home invasion and possession of meth.
Zakora was serving a three- to 22-year prison sentence for sexual assault.
History of drug smuggling in Michigan prison system
This is not the first time allegations of a drug smuggling ring in Michigan Department of Corrections prisons has emerged.
Two corrections officers at the Gus Harrison Correctional Facility and the G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility were fired and rehired after reporting another officer for smuggling drugs.
A corrections officer from G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility was suspended more than 15 months after unit manager Brent Rohrig sent an email to MDOC director Heidi Washington and other top officials, voicing concerns about the officer.
Adrian Delgado, a former prison food worker at the Ionia Correctional Facility, also was sentenced to 18 months to 20 years in prison for delivering a controlled substance and bringing contraband into a prison.