EDWARDSVILLE - Michelle A. Bushue, 25, of 3620 Indiana Ave., in St. Louis, was charged Thursday with one felony count of bringing contraband into a penal institution and four separate felony counts for unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.
Bushue was identified as the person of interest in the investigation, and was in the holding cell at the time of this event on April 19, 2017, in Madison County Jail. The facts of the investigation were presented to the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office, who prepared the criminal information and warrant applications against Bushue. The investigative efforts indicate the narcotics were likely smuggled into the holding cell, via a private body cavity by a single female inmate, who then shared the narcotics with others in the cell. The investigation has shown that the narcotics never made their way into the jail’s general population and were contained to the temporary holding cell.
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At approximately 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19, 2017, Madison County Jail deputies became aware of three female inmates in a temporary holding cell were in need of medical assistance. The three inmates were lethargic and showed symptoms of narcotic intoxication. Emergency Medical Assistance was immediately requested, and all three were transported to a regional hospital, where they were treated for suspected opioid-based overdoses. The three females were treated and released, and are currently back in the custody of the Madison County Jail, on their original unassociated charges.
A thorough investigation was immediately ordered by Sheriff John Lakin, to determine how the inmates came into possession of the narcotic(s). Investigators with the sheriff’s office met with and interviewed all the inmates who were in the temporary holding cell at the time of the event. The Illinois State Police Crimes Scene Investigative Unit was called to assist in processing the actual holding cell.
The Honorable Judge Neil Schroeder signed and issued the warrant setting Bushue’s bond at $150,000.
Bushue was originally arrested in St. Clair County on the morning of April 19, 2017, on an outstanding felony warrant issued out of Madison County. She was transported from St. Clair County to the Madison County Jail, where she was searched by jail deputies and then placed in the temporary holding cell at approximately 1:26 p.m.
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