Sheriff: Bat-Wielding Attack Suspect Got Jail Drugs from Plainfield Girlfriend

A Plainfield woman has been arrested for smuggling marijuana into the Cook County Jail for her boyfriend, a Chicago man who made headlines last year for the alleged baseball bat beating of two women.

Kira Lundgren, 22, is charged with bringing contraband into a penal institution with the assistance of sheriff's officer Jerome Prusa, according to a media release issued Thursday by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.

The recipient of the smuggled drugs was Heriberto Viramontes, 31, who's awaiting trial on charges that he and a former girlfriend beat two Chicago women into unconsciousness in order to steal their purses.

According to the charges, Lundgren allegedly hid a small amount of marijuana in her shoe, which she taped beneath a table in the jail visiting room. She then allegedly approached an undercover officer, whom she believed to be another inmate, and asked that he recover the cannabis and deliver it to Viramontes, Dart said.

The visiting room was overseen by Prusa, who allowed the "inmate" to deliver the drugs and then return to the visiting room. The marijuana was later recovered in a shake-down of Viramontes' cell, Dart said.

The time of the dropoff had been prearranged between Lundgren and Prusa, but it was coincidence that an undercover officer was chosen to be the deliveryman, according to the release.

Dart said his office was aware that for several months contraband was being brought into the jail -- and that it was coming in during Prusa's shift -- so they conducted an internal investigation using undercover officers and confidential informants.

Lundgren was arrested as she left the jail. She's been freed on $10,000 bond, and will be back in court Monday.

Prusa, 50, of Westchester, was taken into custody after the drop was made, the release said. He faces four counts of official misconduct, one count of bringing contraband into a penal institution, two counts of possession of a weapon in a penal institution and one count of bringing a weapon into a penal institution.

The last three counts are tied to two knives found hidden in Prusa's uniform at the time of his arrest.

Prusa has been released on $40,000 bond, and returns to court Thursday. He has been de-deputized and suspended pending an employment hearing. He's also resigned his job as an auxiliary officer for the LaGrange Park Police Department.

Viramontes has been charged with one count of bringing contraband into a penal institution. That's on top of the two counts of aggravated battery and armed robbery he and former girlfriend, Marcy Cruz, 26, currently face.