HARVARD, Mass. — A former Massachusetts state worker has been charged with smuggling K2-laced papers to an inmate at a federal prison.
Tasha Hammock, 43, of Bridgewater, is charged with providing and possessing a controlled substance in the form of a synthetic cannabinoid to 45-year-old Raymond Gaines, an inmate at FMC Devens in Harvard, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Massachusetts announced. Gaines was also indicted in connection with the alleged scheme.
Hammock and Gaines were initially named in a criminal complaint in March.
In August 2024, federal investigators allege that Hammock, while visiting Gaines in the prison, passed K2-laced papers to Gaines, who was serving a seven-year sentence for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm. Gaines was alleged to be an associate of the Orchard Park Trailblazers, a street gang in Boston.
Officials say Hammock was employed with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection at the time.
Hammock also allegedly previously handled money connected with the distribution of K2 to Gaines in FMC Devens, and she allegedly received K2 at her residence for distribution into the prison.
Court documents note that inmates at FMC Devens have become sick from smoking paper believed to contain K2, as well as prison staff who have been exposed to the secondary smoke.
She faces up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
On Jan. 17, Gaines received an Executive Grant of Clemency, reducing his current federal sentence to five years in prison.
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