OKLAHOMA CITY – A couple from the small town of Canute, in Washita County east of Elk City, were sentenced to prison Jan. 28 for their roles in distributing methamphetamine for incarcerated leaders of the Universal Aryan Brotherhood (UAB).
U.S. District Judge Patrick Wyrick sentenced Micah Lynn Wascher, 37, to a 96-month (eight years) prison term, and her husband, Travis Eugene Wascher, 43, to a term of 30 months (two and a half years) for his involvement. Wyrick also imposed a term of five years of supervised release for Micah Wascher and two years of supervised release for Travis Wascher. “Today’s sentence shows that no one is above the law, even those who are supposed to enforce it,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing. “I am pleased with the work of state corrections officials, and state and federal law enforcement, to ensure Oklahoma’s prisons are free of this sort of corruption.”
On Sept. 19, 2019, Travis Wascher pleaded guilty to a felony count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and a week later Micah Wascher pleaded guilty to the same charge. At the time of the offenses, the Waschers were correctional officers at the North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre. In late 2018, Micah Wascher began smuggling methamphetamine and contraband cell phones into the prison at the direction of UAB members in exchange for money and narcotics for her personal use. Additionally, Mrs. Wascher transferred and managed drug proceeds for various UAB members, using Green Dot prepaid cards as well as other payment methods such as PayPal and Walmart Pay.
Several months later, during spring 2019, Micah Wascher involved her husband, Travis Wascher, in the scheme to smuggle narcotics and telephones into the prison. According to an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint filed on July 30, 2019, Oklahoma Department of Corrections staff confiscated a cell phone from a North Fork inmate on May 27, 2019. It is alleged the department’s Security Threats Intelligence group (STI) discovered the phone contained evidence of regular communications among the inmate who had the phone, another inmate, and Micah Lynne Wascher. The phone allegedly included evidence that the other inmate had been receiving money on a Green Dot prepaid credit card from Mrs. Wascher. Both inmates at issue are allegedly members of the Universal Aryan Brotherhood.
The state Corrections Department’s STI agents and members of the District 2 District Attorney’s Drug Task Force executed a search warrant on May 31, 2019, and found approximately 72 grams of methamphetamine at the Waschers’ home. This case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the state Corrections Department and the state District Attorney’s Drug Task Force for District 2. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Harley and Nicholas J. Patterson prosecuted the case.