A prison cook in the Las Vegas region was suspected of having sex with a killer who had been convicted and of smuggling phones and drugs.
KLAS LAS VEGAS— According to records that the 8 News Now investigators got on Wednesday, a kitchen employee at a jail outside of Las Vegas is suspected of engaging in sexual activity with a killer who had already been convicted of the crime, as well as bringing in phones and drugs.
According to records, Tamika Shelton was accused of committing a felony by giving a phone to an inmate.
Shelton, a food service employee, was allegedly accused of "furnishing illegal phones and drugs" to prisoners at the Southern Desert Correctional Center by an investigator with the Nevada Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General last year, according to records. Additionally, Shelton was charged by the investigator with dating the prisoner.
The community of Indian Springs, which is roughly 40 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is home to the men's only jail in the Southern Desert.
According to documents, Robert Williams, a 36-year-old prisoner serving a life sentence for murder, made 57 phone calls with Shelton using Shelton's phone number, as the correctional department investigator discovered. Williams, according to NDOC records, was later transferred to Ely State Prison due to "behavior issues."
According to the investigator's testimony in court filings, Williams urged Shelton to buy his daughter a phone in a call in January 2022. However, Williams has no children, according to jail officials.
According to the records, "In this same call, Offender Williams made statements, including that he was thinking about the time when Ms. Shelton was sucking on his tongue. He declared that he had kissed her "luscious lips" and that they had been "on to something freaky."
During Williams' transfer, prison officials in Ely reportedly found a phone fastened to his leg.
In addition to the phone-related charge, the criminal investigator specifies the offenses of providing a prisoner with a prohibited substance, engaging in unlawful communication with a jail, acting inhumanely toward inmates, and sexually abusing them. Shelton was not charged with any of the additional crimes, though.
Records show that Shelton's arrest warrant was issued in the middle of August. When Shelton arrived for work on Tuesday, August 29, security personnel at Creech Air Force Base detained her. According to the records, an officer had scanned Shelton's ID card and discovered the active warrant.
Shelton "was very cooperative" throughout her arrest, according to court documents. According to records, Judge Harmony Letizia initially set Shelton's bond at $1,000 and then granted Shelton's release on her own recognizance.
On December 18, Shelton was supposed to go back to court.
A jury convicted Williams of being responsible for killing a man at the Clark County Wetlands Park in 2014 and engaging in a standoff with law enforcement in 2016. He was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole by a judge.
On Wednesday, it was unclear why prosecutors did not file the extra charges against Shelton that were specified in the declaration of probationary reason for her detention.
NDOC representatives didn't respond to a message asking if Shelton was still employed right away.
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