Three inmates were also charged in connection to the incident.
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. — A detention officer at the Rockingham County Detention Facility was fired and arrested last week after the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office said he provided contraband to an inmate in the form of a cell phone.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the cell phone was found in the possession of 34-year-old inmate David Lenzie Purgason Jr. on December 5. A subsequent investigation revealed that 31-year-old employee Estella Leyva (Ortega) “played a role in the inmate receiving the contraband.”
Leyva (Ortega) was fired and charged with providing a phone to an inmate. Purgason was charged with possession of a phone by an inmate.
Two other inmates — 32-year-old Raven Byron Broadnax and 32-year-old Cameron Laverne Martin were charged in connection to the incident after investigators said they aided in Purgason’s possession of the phone.
This is an ongoing investigation, according to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.
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