BOSTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Massachusetts), published as received.
BOSTON – A Bridgewater, Mass. woman and an inmate at the federal prison FMC Devens have been charged with conspiring to distribute a synthetic cannabinoid, also known as “K2,” into FMC Devens. The inmate had been granted clemency on Jan. 17, 2025 reducing his 2022 federal prison sentence for drug distribution.
Tasha Hammock, 43, an employee with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and Raymond Gaines, 45, an inmate at FMC Devens, are charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance analogue. Hammock was arrested yesterday and made an initial appearance in federal court in Boston. Gaines will make an initial appearance at a later date.
On Jan. 25, 2022, Gaines was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court in Boston to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. At the time he committed the offenses, he was on federal judicial supervised release after serving a prison sentence resulting from a 2017 conviction for distributing cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a school. According to court records, in both prior cases Gaines was alleged to be an associate of the Orchard Park Trailblazers, a street gang in Boston. On Jan. 17, 2025, Gaines received an Executive Grant of Clemency, reducing his current federal sentence to five years in prison.
According to the charging document, on Aug. 18, 2024, Hammock, while visiting Gaines in the prison, surreptitiously passed K2-laced papers to Gaines, which he pocketed. In addition, Hammock allegedly previously handled money connected with the distribution of K2 to Gaines in FMC Devens, and she allegedly received K2 at her residence for distribution into the prison. The criminal complaint describes how law enforcement became interested in Hammock’s visits to Gaines after obtaining a cellphone that had allegedly been smuggled to an inmate in the prison (“Inmate A”). In September 2023, Inmate A allegedly sent messages on the cell phone to another person (“Person 1”), discussing obtaining K2 in prison. Inmate A allegedly told Person 1 that the drugs could be delivered to a particular address in Bridgewater – later determined to be Hammock’s residence - and that Inmate A’s “co” would arrange for the drugs to be brought into the prison from there.
As described in the charging document, K2 presents a health problem at FMC Devens, where inmates have become sick from smoking paper believed to contain K2, as well as prison staff who have been exposed to the secondary smoke.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance analogue carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan O’Shea of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
