8 Putnam Inmates Taken To CRMC After Drug Overdoses At Jail

Two women charged with five counts of attempted second degree murder for smuggling drugs into the Putnam County Jail, resulting in eight inmates being taken to Cookeville Regional.

The inmates received emergency medical treatment late Thursday for snorting what appeared to be a heroin/fentanyl mixture. Nicole Danielle Ealey accused of smuggling the drugs into the jail Wednesday in a body cavity. She faces the new attempted murder charges along with charges of introducing contraband into a penal facility. Also charged, Jasmine Richelle Lancaster.

After smuggling the drugs into the jail, Ealey and Lancaster are accused of distributing the narcotics to other inmates in the pod, leading to the overdoses.

Five of the inmates remained at Cookeville Regional Medical Center overnight. Three others were released.

Putnam County Jail Administrator Tim Nash said inmates are strip-searched upon admission to the jail, but items inside a body cavity cannot be seen.

The inmates face additional charges of simple possession/casual exchange. They include Krystal Gail Auxier, Racheal Lee Blackard, Brittany Lynn Bryant, Jamie Sue Bullard, Chantel Renee Keagle, Sarah Nichole King, Sarah Elisabeth Miller, and Angie Lanette Taylor.

“I am glad that none of the corrections officers or inmates have died due to the use or exposure of the deadly drug fentanyl,” Sheriff Eddie Farris said in a statement. “90 percent of our inmates in Putnam County are incarcerated for illegal drug activity whether it be through direct or indirect activity.”