Detroit woman charged for smuggling meth after Michigan inmate's 2023 overdose death

COLDWATER, Mich. — A Detroit woman faces felony charges for allegedly smuggling methamphetamines into a Michigan prison last year, leading to an inmate's fatal overdose, state police said. 

Dezarary Brown-Bobo, 24, has been charged with delivery of a controlled substance causing death, delivery of methamphetamine, and bringing contraband into a prison. District Judge Brent Weigle set her bond at $50,000 Tuesday.

Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Matt Berry and prison staff investigated a ring bringing drugs into the Coldwater prison after inmate William Wilson, 57, was found dead in a prison bathroom on Oct. 29.  An autopsy found burst bags of methamphetamine with cocaine in his mouth and throat.

The doctor recovered an intact third bag from his stomach. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death "methamphetamine toxicity."  

The medical examiner said it appeared Wilson swallowed the three bags and attempted to regurgitate them when the two burst.   

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A review of earlier visitation surveillance footage showed Brown-Bobo remove an item from her shirt and put the object on a plate of food in front of Wilson, according to investigators. Wilson took the object and placed it in his mouth.   

Recorded telephone calls from Brown-Bobo’s number to the prison found conversations between the person who drove Brown-Bobo to the prison and another inmate alluding to the delivery of the package.  

A call after Wilson’s death discussed the anxiety over the death and a desire to continue to deliver drugs to both Lakeland and St. Louis Corrections facilities, the police report stated.  

The report said investigations continue into the death and delivery of prison contraband involving others.   

The court appointed the public defender to represent Brown-Bobo. The office declined to comment. 

The court set the probable cause conference for March 19 and the preliminary exam for March 26.