SEATTLE — A former corrections officer who took bribes to smuggle contraband into the Monroe Correctional Complex has been sentenced to 18 months in federal lock-up.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones told the defendant Friday that he’d abused his position of power and trust and compromised the safety of everyone at the prison.
Michael W. Bowden, 31, pleaded guilty in January to extortion.
Bowden had worked as an officer at the Monroe Correctional Complex since 2013. He was assigned to the Twin Rivers Unit and came under investigation by the FBI in December 2015.
In a one-page letter to the judge, the Everett High School graduate apologized for his actions. He also went on to offer excuses, saying his background in retail didn’t prepare him for working with inmates. He told the judge his fall from grace started when he caught two inmates eating the unfinished lunch he’d thrown away. He said he didn’t reprimand them and after that day they pushed him for more.
“I felt sorry for the them. My human compassion took over my proper judgment for the rules of my job,” he wrote.
Federal agents monitored Bowden being paid up to $1,000 to smuggle into prison chewing tobacco, a cellphone SIM card and fake meth he unknowingly was supplied by the FBI, according to court papers.
State prison investigators also fielded reports from inmates that Bowden was smuggling in heroin and meth.
Officials reported a spike in inmates testing positive for drugs in Twin Rivers, up from seven in 2015 to 56 in 2016, with most testing positive for meth, an FBI agent wrote in court papers.
After his September arrest Bowden admitted to investigators that he’d smuggled meth into the prison on two separate occasions, federal prosecutors reported.
MCC Superintendent Michael Obenland wrote a letter to the court, saying shortly before Bowden smuggled in the fake meth an inmate had died from an overdose when he tried to hide his stash of drugs. Bowden knew the risks of contraband in the hands of inmates, Obenland added.
The FBI obtained a cellphone number for Bowden and identified at least five dozen text messages between the corrections officer and a person known to an inmate, a violation of state prison policy, according to court papers filed to establish probable cause for the charges.
Bowden’s interactions were monitored with the person, who was cooperating with investigators outside the prison, too. He talked about his past involvement in the Surenos gang, including covering up tattoos that linked him to the group. He complained about security at the prison, and how much suspicion was directed his way.
Bowden said he didn’t care about losing his corrections job because he wasn’t well paid. His base salary, excluding overtime, was about $40,000 a year.
“Initially there was no monetary exchange,” Bowden wrote. “I knew I was being manipulated and used but I felt resigned to the fact that I had allowed myself to be compromised. I told (the inmates) many times that it had to stop and that only made them push harder.”
Bowden will be under federal supervision for three years once he’s released.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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