A prison guard in Ocala, Florida has been arrested after she allegedly attempted to poison an inmate by spraying bleach into a drink that she then served them.
The incident occurred at the Lowell Correctional Institution on Saturday.
The inmate contacted another guard after they noticed that the drink they were served with their breakfast smelled strongly of bleach. The guard agreed and alerted their supervisors to the incident.
When authorities began investigating, an officer told them that they witnessed another staff member 28-year-old Qualesha Williams, spray bleach into a cup while preparing breakfast and place it aside. Williams then reportedly told the officer that “this cup is special.”
Williams then volunteered to feed the lower cells of the dormitory where she was captured on surveillance skipping several cells to serve a specific tray of food to an inmate.
As Williams got to the inmate’s cell, she then began tampering with the tray but concealed her actions from the camera.
When an agent with the Florida Department of Corrections questioned Williams about the incident, she admitted that she poured bleach into the cup that she then served to the prisoner but said that she would never hurt anyone on purpose. Authorities, however, pointed out that they retrieved surveillance video from earlier in the day that shows Williams arguing with the same inmate where she threatened “I got something for you.”
Williams is now charged with poisoning food or water.