New Bedford woman sentenced for smuggling drugs into Dartmouth Jail

Ginger Hooks, a New Bedford woman who smuggled drugs into the Dartmouth Jail in June 2025, pleaded guilty and was charged with one felony of delivering drugs to prisoners and two felony counts of conspiracy on Tuesday, April 21.

“The work that the lead investigator on this case, Captain Christine Fortin, and the rest of the BSCO Special Investigation Unit with assistance from the state police and a special prosecutor was going to be hard to defend against,” said Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux, “The evidence was overwhelming.”

For 18 months, Hooks worked as a librarian at the Bristol County Jail and House of Correction, resigning in July after being accused of smuggling in drugs. Heroux stated that she acted intentionally. 

Hooks  worked with a current inmate and three men on the outside to smuggle in the drugs.These men are Joseph Housley of Rehoboth, who is in jail for life for the murder of his father, Brandin Barbosa-Mayo of New Bedford, Bestlee Vasquez of Somerset, and Axel Hazard of Rhode Island. Barbosa-Mayo and Vasquez were cellmates of Housely’s prior to the smuggling.

Hooks smuggled in $65,000 of synthetic marijuana into the jail as 13 sheets of paper on June 9, 2025. This was not the first time she smuggled synthetic marijuana into the jail, and on two occasions smuggled in unknown amounts of the drug.

She brought the papers in by hiding them in a folder when she entered the jail. 

The Special Investigators Unit was made aware of a potential attempt to sneak drugs into the jail prior to June 9, and caught Hooks with the folder. 

She initially entered a “Not Guilty” plea but changed her plea to guilt in April. She was given two years of probation.

“I’m glad this case is over,” said Heroux, “I think pleading guilty was in the best interest of the defendant and saves everyone a lot of time, effort, coming, and money.”