39 YEAR OLD ILLINOIS WOMAN ARRESTED BY KSP AND CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTING TO PASS DRUGS IN A HAIRBOW
SEPTEMBER 29, 2026 – written by WADE QUEEN
An Illinois woman faces multiple felony charges after authorities say she tried to smuggle drugs into the federal prison in Martin County.
Alicia Tranette Johnson, 39, of Belleville, Illinois, is facing three charges after Kentucky State Police Post 9 in Pikeville alleged she brought suspected contraband into USP Big Sandy in Debord in Martin County.
According to the arrest citation, on Sunday, September 27, Big Sandy prison staff reviewing live surveillance allegedly saw Alicia Johnson conceal a black hair bow beneath a paper plate and pass it to a federal inmate. Correction officers intervened, seized the hair bow, and discovered 14 paper bindles inside.
KSP troopers state the hair bow contained 14 individually wrapped paper bundles. A field test allegedly indicated the presence of amphetamine.
KSP troopers allegedJohnson said she obtained the items from an individual in Illinois and was instructed to deliver them to the inmate. The suspected substances were submitted to the KSP laboratory for identification and analysis.
Alicia Johnson was arrested by KSP 9 trooper Jonathan Rouse charged with:
• PROMOTING CONTRABAND – 1ST DEGREE;
• TRAFFICKING IN CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE, 2ND DEGREE, 1ST OFFENSE – (> OR = 10 D.U. AMPHETAMINE);
• DRUG PARAPHERNALIA – DELIVER/MANUFACTURE.
Alicia Johnson was transported to and lodged in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Paintsville in Johnson County, where she remains incarcerated as of Tuesday evening, September 29.
