Former Sumter detention officer charged after allegedly receiving payment to deliver contraband

A former detention officer has been charged with misconduct in office after an investigation.

Sumter County Sheriff’s Office announced that, after an investigation, former detention officer Jenaea Wells, 49, of Bishopville, was charged with furnishing or attempting to furnish a prisoner with contraband and misconduct in office, according to Public Information Officer Mar Bordeaux in a news release. Wells had been working at the detention center since February 2026.

Wells was interviewed and taken into custody Friday evening when she reported to the detention center for her shift. Investigators allege that Wells had received payment to deliver a substance that is illegal to bring inside the detention center and brought the substance into Sumter County Detention Center with the intent to provide it to an inmate, according to the release.

Wells was booked into Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center and later released on bond.