SCI Forest Inmate Busted With Synthetic Cannabinoids

Aly Delp

Aly Delp

Published September 22, 2021 4:30 am
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JENKS TWP., Pa. (EYT) — Charges have been filed against an inmate at SCI Forest who was reportedly caught in possession of synthetic cannabinoids at the facility earlier this year.

Court documents indicate the Department of Corrections filed criminal charges against 29-year-old Joshua Strayhorn, who is currently incarcerated at SCI Forest.

According to a criminal complaint, around 2:25 p.m. on March 19, corrections officers at SCI Forest on Woodland Drive in Marienville, Jenks Township, Forest County, conducted an investigative search on inmate Joshua Strayhorn‘s cell at the direction of the Security Captain.

During the search, the officers located an envelope on Strayhorn’s desk, containing Strayhorn’s name and state identification number and appearing to be addressed to an attorney, which was torn open at one end. The officers noticed the envelope contained five pieces of paper.

All of the pages varied in size and appeared to have small pieces torn from them. They were also reportedly “off-color” and “appeared to have a sheen” on them. The papers were then confiscated and the search continued, according to the complaint.

The officers then found an additional 21 pieces of similar legal paperwork which they suspected contained synthetic cannabinoids. All of the items were subsequently transferred to the custody of the Security Office to await transport to the PA Department of Corrections Security Processing Center (SPC) at SCI Benner Township, to be analyzed for the presence of controlled substances, the complaint states.

The items were then tested at the SPC on April 14. The papers tested positive for synthetic cannabinoids, and they were then transported to the Pennsylvania State Police Erie Regional Laboratory for further analysis, the complaint continues.

According to the complaint, the Department of Corrections then received a lab report from the laboratory on July 23 that indicated tests confirmed the papers did contain synthetic cannabinoids.

The following charges were filed against Strayhorn through Judge Daniel L. Miller’s office on September 17:

– Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession With Intent to Manufacture or Deliver, Felony
– Possess Controlled Substance, Contraband/Inmate, Felony 2
– Use/Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Misdemeanor
– Intentional Possession Controlled Substance By Person Not Registered, Misdemeanor

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on December 14, 2021, with Judge Miller presiding.

Court documents indicate Strayhorn is serving a 15 to 30 year sentence on a Murder Of The Third Degree charge related to a deadly shooting in McKees Rocks in 2015.

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