BALTIMORE – Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today announced that Ajee Xavier Myers, a three-year veteran Correctional Dietary Officer (CDO), has pled guilty to misconduct in office based on behavior at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women (MCIW) in Jessup, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The investigation was led by the Office of the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Unit (OCU) and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS).
“Employee misconduct within the correctional system not only undermines integrity and trust in the system, but it also places the welfare of the incarcerated individuals and officers at risk,” said Attorney General Anthony Brown. “We are committed to continuing our partnership with DPSCS to investigate and prosecute important cases of DPSCS employee misconduct and work to create a safer environment in Maryland correctional facilities.”
On July 16, 2024, Myers pled guilty before Judge Donna M. Schaeffer of the Circuit Court of Maryland for Anne Arundel County. Myers was given a two-year suspended sentence with three years of probation. As part of the guilty plea, Myers agreed to resign from her position at DPSCS.
In September of 2023, DPSCS’s Intelligence and Investigative Division received information about an inappropriate romantic relationship between CDO Myers and an incarcerated individual. Working with the Office of the Attorney General, the investigative team uncovered that, between September 2023 and January 2024, CDO Myers took advantage of her position of authority with regard to that incarcerated individual—her victim—and gave the incarcerated individual unauthorized privileges, did not report that individual’s rule violations, gave money to the individual using her commissary account, and spoke to the incarcerated individual on the recorded facility phone over 800 times in three months.
Investigators also learned that, at one point, CDO Myers isolated and interrogated another incarcerated person whom she perceived as a romantic rival of hers and demanded details about that person’s physical relationship with her victim. Additionally, CDO Myers told another incarcerated individual, “It don’t matter what y’all say… y’all are inmates and I have the upper hand. It’s your word against mine. But you need to tell that b*tch,” referring to her perceived rival, “to stay away from [the victim].”
“The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services treats investigating all allegations of staff misconduct and corruption as a priority. These actions violate the public trust and jeopardize the safety and security of our institutions, staff and incarcerated community,” said DPSCS Secretary Carolyn Scruggs. “Upon learning of these allegations, the DPSCS Special Investigations Section immediately initiated a criminal investigation into this matter, which ultimately led to the criminal charging of former staff member Myers. I appreciate the diligent work of the investigative team and the partnership of the Office of the Attorney General in the successful prosecution of this case.”
In making today’s announcement, Attorney General Brown thanked his Criminal Division, specifically Organized Crime Unit Chief Paul Halliday, as well as Deputy Organized Crime Unit Chief Zachary A. Norfolk and Assistant Attorney General Pilar Rodarte, who prosecuted this case. Attorney General Brown also thanked DPSCS Detective Sergeant Michael Baier and DPSCS Lieutenant Valentrina White for their hard work on this case. Finally, Attorney General Brown also thanked State’s Attorney for Anne Arundel County Anne Colt Leitess for her office’s assistance in this investigation.
