OGDEN — A man being housed in the Weber County Jail on federal drug charges is now accused of continuing his illegal activity while incarcerated by having drug-laced postcards sent to him, according to charging documents.
Joshua Lee Kendall, 34, of West Jordan, was charged Wednesday in 2nd District Court with three counts of drug possession, a first-degree felony.
In February 2019, federal drug charges were filed against Kendall. He was convicted on May 1 of conspiracy to distribute heroin and sentenced to 90 months in federal prison, according to court records.
Charging documents filed Wednesday state that Kendall was being held in the Weber County Jail.
In December, Weber County corrections officers discovered Kendall had several postcards addressed to him that “tested positive for opium alkaloids and methamphetamines,” the charges state.
Investigators say Kendall was “selling strips and/or pieces of these postcards for financial gain. Other postcards were found in Kendall’s property on Aug. 31, 2019, and they tested positive for methamphetamine,” the charges state.
Throughout the investigation, prosecutors say Kendall made multiple phone calls from jail and sent multiple text messages using his phone and tablet accounts, as well as the phone accounts of other inmates, “to direct and engage with several individuals and orchestrated the movement of money and drugs.
“I have reviewed many phone calls and found evidence of planning, and intent to receive and distribute drugs within the facility. Included with my report is the following evidence: postcards, video visits, ledgers, messages, and phone calls related to drug transactions that have occurred within the (Weber County Jail),” investigators wrote in charging documents.
Those calls and text messages “discussed how to manufacture the drug-laced postcards, sending the drug-laced postcards to the jail, various amounts of money being placed on inmate Kendall’s account used in the jail, and also to Venmo, Cash App, and PayPal accounts set up by family for inmate Kendall, and individuals that are helping buy drugs and manufacture the postcards being sent,” the charges state.
A police affidavit further noted that Kendall used “slang terms for the different drugs used on the postcards” when speaking to family members and other associates.
More than 20 inmates and some of Kendall’s family members and friends were involved in “purchasing/using the drugs being distributed,” the charges state.