CLEARFIELD – A Clearfield woman accused of smuggling drugs into the Clearfield County Jail and causing a fatal overdose, has signed a plea agreement.
In July of 2023, three women overdosed on drugs allegedly supplied by Angela Marie Ricketts, 39.
During court on Monday, a plea agreement was put on the record, which gives her a minimum of 87 months (7.25 years) in state prison for charges of drug delivery resulting in death in this case, two drug cases and a drug paraphernalia charge.
District Attorney Ryan Sayers explained that the plea breaks down as six years for the death charge and 15 months for the drug charges.
Online court documents indicate she is scheduled for sentencing on May 20.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Ricketts was in the jail following an encounter with DuBois City police at a hotel on July 5 where she and a man were acting suspiciously and asking employees drug-related questions. She was taken into custody on a warrant and transported to the jail.
She allegedly had three baggies of drugs including cocaine, Fentanyl, Xanax and Klonopin concealed in her body.
While she was at the jail, she reportedly gave another inmate a small “rock” piece “because she was asking for it to get high.” This inmate later tested positive for three different drugs.
On July 6, she was reportedly in the cell with the two women who overdosed where they did a “line off a book with a straw.” Shortly after this, one of the inmates had a seizure before becoming unresponsive.
While CPR was being performed on her, the second inmate became unconscious and efforts were made to resuscitate her. Both are eventually revived with Narcan.
While being transported by ambulance to the hospital, one of them reportedly said she got the drugs from Ricketts, who had drugs hidden on her person.
Other inmates stated that they knew Ricketts had drugs.
In the early-morning hours of July 8, the victim also overdosed and passed away.
When the cell was searched, police say they found a contact lens container with an unknown crystallized rock. They also located a plastic straw and a small crystallized rock that tested positive for Fentanyl that had reportedly rolled off the victim when she was moved.
In a commissary bag, they allegedly found 29 pills thought to be Xanax and Klonopin.
Police say these drugs were smuggled into the facility by Ricketts, who hid them in a body cavity.
In a phone call with her sister on Sept. 1, Ricketts allegedly admitted to her that she brought drugs into the jail.
The victim had both Fentanyl and acetyl Fentanyl in her system and the cause of death was a multi-drug overdose, according to the autopsy report.
