Inmates accused of smuggling drugs into Nye County jail

Nine inmates at the Nye County Detention Center could have an extended stay at the facility after a narcotics smuggling operation was discovered, according to the Nye County sheriff’s office.

Kaylynn Elaine Copper, Austin Richard Collins, Larry Gregorio Avila, Bryan Keith Lewis, Justin Eugene Connor, Matthew Ryan Clark, Joshua David Allen, Nicolle Lynn Mathans and O’Ryan Philip Ray face charges of being under the influence of a controlled substance and conspiracy of distribution of a controlled substance to a prisoner, the sheriff’s office said in a press release.

Deputies got information that while Clark and Allen were assigned to an outside work detail, they were smuggling narcotics into the facility, the release said.

They were bringing heroin and methamphetamine into the detention center and distributing it through Lewis, Collins and Avila, who were also inmate workers, the sheriff’s office said. They then attempted to distribute the narcotics through the jail’s laundry distribution system.

The inmate workers lost their worker status, the release said.

Contact Tony Garcia at tgarcia@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307. Follow @TonyGLVNews on Twitter.