DUBLIN — Two men have been charged with felonies after Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies intercepted drug-laced books one of them allegedly sent to the other in the county jail, court records show.
The defendants, both Livermore residents aged 46 and 49, were charged two felony counts of bringing drugs into jail. The charging records allege that in June 2024, the 46-year-old hid synthetic cannabis and an opioid in a book, then called the 49-year-old to inform him that “really good books” were coming and that he show pay particular attention to chapters five through seven.
The drugs were intercepted in the Santa Rita Jail mailroom, police say.
Of course, chapters five to seven is where the drugs were hidden, police say. Police raided the 46-year-old man’s trailer in Livermore last January and found methamphetamine, suspected fentanyl, packaging materials, and a shipping label addressed to another jail inmate, according to court records. The man denied he was sending drugs into jail.
Both men have since been released, pending resolution of the case, court records show.
Drug smuggling at Santa Rita Jail are a constant concern of law enforcement officials, who use informants, recorded jail calls, and a police K9 named Kai to attempt to stop it from happening. Books — disguised to appear like they’re coming from approved vendors, like Amazon or Half Priced Books — are a very common Trojan Horse for contraband, as are envelopes labeled confidential “legal mail,” according to authorities.
Also common are contraband packages addressed to people with pending murder charges, as they presumably have less to lose, legally speaking, than many others stuck in the jail for less serious alleged crimes.
In November 2023, for instance, authorities intercepted more than three ounces of marijuana, about two ounces of methamphetamine, a half-ounce of fentanyl, all hidden in books addressed to a murder defendant in the jail. The suspected perpetrator turned out to be a local rapper and his wife, Walnut Creek residents. Police determined his wife used the same BMW to drop off a contraband package at the post office as the rapper had used in a music video posted online, authorities said.
In 2024, another murder defendant had “legal mail” sent to him multiple times from someone who wasn’t his attorney, but which contained synthetic cannabis, authorities said.
