Deputies discover drugs inside the Uintah County Jail

By Travis Uresk

1/23/24

Vernal, Ut. (1/20/24) Deputy Monsen received a call in Booking from a previously released inmate who stated that while he was housed in Detox-1 Cell, he witnessed Inmate Anthony Olejniczak and Inmate 22-year-year-old Keagan Lee McDonald Knowles snorting some kind of substance.

On the video footage on 1/19/24 at around noon, Inmate Olejniczak left Detox-1 Cell and went to the bathroom near the visiting cells. Later, Inmate Olejniczak returned to his cell to lay on his mattress.

He then reached over and put a book in front of him. It appeared that the inmate reached into his pocket, lay back down, and fidgeted with something in front of him, but he was positioned in a way the camera couldn't see what he was doing.

Inmate Olejniczak then slides the book over to Inmate Knowles along with another item, looking like a rolled-up paper. Knowles takes the item and leans down toward the book.

On 1/20/24, deputies completed a shakedown in Pod-F, where the two inmates were being housed. The rolled-up paper was located on the day room table in Pod-F.

Deputy Monsen retrieved the paper and took it to the Sergeant's Office to complete a NIK drug test. He tore a couple of pieces off the paper and used Test A, and it showed a positive result for Opium Alkaloids, Codeine, and Amphetamines.

Deputy Monsen and Deputy Jensen put on their body cameras and escorted Inmate Knowles to the Video Courtroom to interview him. He said he didn't bring anything into the facility and did not want to be disciplined.

Deputy Jensen asked if Anthony Olejniczak was the one who brought it in, and Knowles nodded and said yes, he was the one who brought it in but didn't know how he got it inside the cell or what it was. Knowles was asked if he snorted what he put in front of him, and he stated yeah.