MDOC Officer Charged with Smuggling Drugs Into Prison

A Saginaw man faces 13 charges in a drug smuggling case.

61-year-old Kernef Jackson, who has been suspended from his position as an officer for the Michigan Department of Corrections, is accused of bringing drugs into the Saint Louis Correctional Facility in Gratiot County, according to Michigan State Police. Jackson was arrested in August following an investigation by the Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team (BAYANET) that took more than a year. Police reportedly found meth, marijuana, and opioids in Jackson’s vehicle.

Jackson was arraigned Saturday on four counts of felony firearm, eight counts of possession with intent to deliver for different controlled substances, and one count of maintaining a drug house. Two other people have been charged in the case, one of whom is a prisoner at the Saint Louis facility.