The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office arrested Sara Joyce Powell, a former detention deputy, on Jan. 30 for furnishing contraband to inmates and misconduct in office.

Powell, a 34 year old of Westminster, South Carolina, was booked into the Oconee County Detention Center around 6:18 p.m. last Thursday.

OCSO received information on Powell distributing contraband, which led to the start of an investigation around two weeks ago.

Contraband can be anything that is illegal to trade, produce, carry or generally have in one’s possession. These include items that are banned from a facility, according to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School.

The investigation was led by Ken Washington, captain of the special operations bureau at OCSO, and evidence confirmed that Powell distributed contraband to inmates in the detention center between the months of August 2024 and January 2025.

Since the investigation is ongoing, the OCSO cannot specify the contraband that Powell gave out nor the number of inmates involved. This information can only be used “during legal proceedings in court,” according to a news release from the OCSO.

The OCSO terminated Powell’s position as detention deputy before she was arrested. Powell was initially hired in August 2022.

“Employees of the Sheriff’s Office are held to high standards of professionalism, accountability and trust in the performance of their duties,” Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw said in the news release.

“Due to the nature of the complaint, and with potential contraband being brought into the Detention Center, we conducted the investigation to immediately address this matter. Upon obtaining the evidence in this case, Powell was terminated and placed under arrest,” Crenshaw continued.

Powell is currently still in jail and awaiting a bond hearing.