Massachusetts Attorney, Three Others Charged in Scheme to Smuggle Contraband Into the Wyatt Detention Center

PROVIDENCE, RI - As reflected in court documents unsealed in federal court in Providence today, a Massachusetts attorney, two individuals detained in the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility, and a Connecticut woman have been charged by way of federal criminal complaints for their alleged participation in a scheme to smuggle contraband into the Wyatt Detention Facility, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Attorney Theresa M. DiJoseph, 50, of Woburn, MA, is charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, providing a prohibited object to an inmate, and making a false statement; Hanasa Stedford, 21, of Hamden, CT, and Wyatt Center detainees Shawn D. Hart, 46, and Samuel Douglas, 26, are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and providing a prohibited object to an inmate.

DiJoseph and Stedford were arrested earlier today and are expected to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Providence today. Hart, detained at the Wyatt Detention Facility while awaiting trial on drug and firearm offenses charged in the District of Massachusetts, and Douglas, who is awaiting sentencing in U.S. District Court in New Haven, CT, having pleaded guilty in April 2024 to a charge of racketeering conspiracy, will make their initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Providence at a later date.

According to charging documents, during a visit to Wyatt on July 9, 2023, DiJoseph used her credentials as an attorney to meet with Hart in a contact visiting room (a visiting room that does not include a plexiglass screen sometimes used for attorney visits to conduct legal work). Correctional officers later filed an incident report when DiJoseph was found to be acting suspicious and monitoring the correctional officer's movements.

A review by Wyatt of text messages sent between DiJoseph and Hart on a Wyatt-issued tablet allegedly revealed that DiJoseph had sent Hart personal photos of herself and screenshots showing Cash App or sports-betting transactions that she appeared to have engaged in on Hart's behalf. She was temporarily prohibited from contact visits with Hart, but later allowed to resume visits.

On December 1, 2023, during an attempted visit with Hart, Wyatt correctional officers seized from DiJoseph 10 sheets of paper that appeared discolored, thicker than normal, and to have been wet and dried, consistent with papers soaked in synthetic marijuana. The papers were later sent to an FBI testing lab that confirmed the presence of Schedule 1 controlled substances.

It is alleged in charging documents that Wyatt detainee Samuel Douglas arranged for his girlfriend, Hanasa Stedford, to meet with DiJoseph outside of the Wyatt Detention Center on December 1, 2023, and to provide DiJoseph with the contaminated papers that were seized from DiJoseph.

A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Julianne Klein and Peter I. Roklan.

The matter was investigated by FBI and members of the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Center Professional Standards Unit.

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