2 more arrests in Allegheny County Jail contraband investigation

A day after a former Allegheny County Jail corrections officer was charged as part of a contraband investigation, county police announced the arrest of two more men accused of being part of the smuggling scheme.

County officials said inmate Lamar Castile, 42, and William Gilliam, 33, both from Pittsburgh’s West Oakland neighborhood, were charged with contraband, criminal conspiracy and related offenses, part of an internal affairs investigation at the jail.

On Monday, former corrections officer Raymond Toomey, 34, of Pittsburgh was arrested and charged with bringing drugs into the jail.

A corrections sergeant became suspicious after Toomey had contact with Castile that violated existing procedure, according to a criminal complaint. A corrections officer saw Toomey give Castile a jail-issued uniform to be worn in an area where Castile was not assigned, according to court records.

Castile was searched and paper soaked in a substance believed to be synthetic cannabinoids or K2 was found. Investigators interviewed Toomey, who later consented to a search of his car where suboxone was found, police said.

Investigators used data made available from the download of two phones surrendered by Toomey, along with phone records from the jail, to identify Gilliam. Police said Toomey then identified Gilliam from a photograph, as the man he believed he had met to receive contraband to bring into the prison as well as payments, according to the criminal complaint.

Gilliam was arrested at Pittsburgh Municipal Court on Tuesday afternoon, where he was due in court for a preliminary hearing on charges of strangulation and simple assault, stemming from an incident in October 2022.

New court dates for Castile and Gilliam have not been set, according to court records.