NEW BOSTON, Texas–A registered nurse was arrested Monday on felony bribery and drug charges after she was allegedly caught on video passing a package to an inmate in his cell at the Telford Unit in New Boston, according to court records.
Deana Michelle Spurlock, 46, was allegedly observed on surveillance footage Monday morning giving inmate Antonio Vance, 38, a package at his cell in Building 8 of the Barry Telford Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, according to a probable cause affidavit. Prison staff reportedly launched an immediate search of inmate Vance’s cell which allegedly yielded seven cell phones, two bags of methamphetamine, synthetic marijuana and various cell phone chargers.
Spurlock allegedly admitted to Office of Inspector General Investigator Nathan Head, who is based at Telford, that she had provided numerous phones and a package, which possibly contained drugs, to Vance over the last month. She was allegedly paid $800 by Vance through a cash transferring application for the contraband.
Sixteen grams of methamphetamine were reportedly found in a cosmetics bag in the front console during a search on Monday of Spurlock’s 2020 Hyundai Sonata on the prison campus.
Spurlock faces two to 20 years in prison on the bribery and controlled substance charges, if convicted. She was released from Bowie County custody Monday after posting bonds totaling $105,000.
The inmate Spurlock allegedly accepted payments from in exchange for contraband had not been charged in the case as of Thursday, court records show. Vance is currently serving a 10-year sentence for two counts of sexual assault out of Dallas County, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website, which shows a projected release date of June 27, 2027.
Vance was denied parole in October of last year and has previously been sentenced to prison in Texas for crimes including aggravated promotion of prostitution, theft and aggravated assault causing bodily injury, according to TDCJ.
Spurlock is the third Telford employee to be charged in the last several months with bribery and other crimes related to the alleged exchange of contraband for money. Ki-Jona Hayvin Wells, 25, was arrested in November and is facing charges including bribery and possession of child pornography. Candra Jimese Gray, 36, was arrested on a bribery charge in December.
Spurlock’s case has been assigned to 202nd District Judge John Tidwell while the criminal actions against Wells and Gray are pending before 102nd District Judge Jeff Addison.
