Inmate caught with drugs waives preliminary hearing

A Department of Corrections inmate who was caught with methamphetamine in her cell has waived her right to a preliminary hearing last Wednesday.

As such, Abigail Renee Duenas is scheduled to appear in Superior Court on April 1 for her arraignment.

A preliminary hearing is when the court determines if there is probable cause to try an individual for the charges filed against them.

According to court documents, the Department of Public Safety received a call from DOC’s Internal Affairs officer Lianna Quitugua on Monday, March 4, at around 2:39pm, who reported an illegal possession incident. At around 2:46pm that same day, police officer Bradford Peter met with Quitugua at DOC.

According to Quitugua, DOC officer Shaina Rios was conducting a cell search in the female unit, Pod-3 Section-C, when she discovered a clear Ziploc baggie containing a crystal-like substance. Quitugua said she tested the substance in the baggie using the Narcotics Identification Kit, which resulted in a presumptive positive result for the presence of methamphetamine.

At around 7:32pm that same day, DPS officers arrived at DOC and met with Duenas.

According to Duenas, she entered DOC on Feb. 9, on a charge of theft and was released on Feb. 24. She was scheduled to return to DOC on Feb. 29 to start her sentence.

However, Duenas claims that before she was released on Feb. 24, she was allegedly approached by her fellow inmates, Liva Fitial and Shaina Castro, who knew that she would be returning and allegedly instructed her to smuggle methamphetamine for them when she returns. Duenas claims she obtained the drug from her brother-in-law and she hid the baggie in her underwear Duenas noted that the officer that searched her upon entering DOC did not see it.

Duenas claims said she was unable to hand over the Ziploc baggie to Fitial or Castro as they were in a different section.

Duenas claims she continued to hide the Ziploc baggie in her cell until March 4 when Rios conducted a cell search. Duenas added that she approached the officer herself and admitted she had drugs in her cell and that’s how Rios found the drugs.