A Cressona woman is facing felony charges after investigators say she attempted to smuggle drugs into the State Correctional Institution at Mahanoy while employed there as a nurse practitioner.
According to court documents, Rachel Alexis Howells, 38, of Cressona, was arraigned on August 20, 2025, before Magisterial District Judge Anthony J. Kilker. She is charged with felony contraband/controlled substance, felony possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, misdemeanor intentional possession of a controlled substance, and misdemeanor use or possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail was set at $25,000 unsecured.
The charges stem from an incident on October 24, 2024. Investigators with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Bureau of Investigations and Intelligence (BII) said they received a tip two days earlier from a confidential source that Howells planned to bring contraband into SCI Mahanoy for an inmate.
Upon arriving for her shift that morning, Howells was interviewed by investigators. During questioning, she admitted to having contraband on her person. A female corrections lieutenant recovered two plastic-wrapped packages concealed in Howells’ clothing. Inside were six sheets of paper suspected of being laced with synthetic cannabinoids and 301 film strips believed to be Buprenorphine (Suboxone).
The items were submitted to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Bureau of Justice Services Forensic Laboratory for analysis. Lab results confirmed that the paper contained phencyclidine (PCP), a Schedule II drug, and several of the strips contained buprenorphine, a Schedule III drug.
Howells was taken into custody and formally charged.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 2nd, 2025, in Shenandoah before Judge Kilker..