A 23-year-old employee at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center was arrested Thursday after officials found a “green plant like material” in her car.

Zaria Watson, a guard, was the fourth employee at the Richland County jail arrested this month. She is one of 13 arrested in the last year, according to past reporting. She was charged with furnishing contraband, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department announced Friday.

Investigators began an operation at the jail shortly after 8 p.m. on Thursday, when a sheriff’s office K-9 “hit” on Watson’s car in the employee parking lot. A search of the car turned up “green plant like material.” The sheriff’s department did not identify the substance.

Watson was employed at the jail through Allied Barton Security, officials said.

Watson was booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, according to the sheriff’s department. She was released on a $20,000 bond.

Several other Richland County jail employees were also recently charged with misconduct.

Donisha Grady, 36, was accused Jan. 18 of having inappropriate contact with an inmate while a corrections officer at Alvin S. Glenn. An investigation revealed that she had 65 phone calls with an inmate between June 2023 and January 2024, according to the sheriff’s department. The calls took place outside of shift hours.

Two other officers, Amara Brown, 28, and Antiona Walker, 25, were arrested and charged with furnishing contraband to detainees earlier this month. Brown was accused of delivering a DoorDash meal to an inmate. Walker allegedly smuggled cigarettes inside of bags of chips.

In 2023, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department announced the arrests of nine guards at Alvin S. Glenn. The Richland County Administration did not respond to inquiries from The State about the arrests, according to previous reporting.

Staffing has been identified as a major problem at the troubled jail for some time. In an announcement launching an investigation of the jail, the U.S. Department of Justice identified staffing as a leading “concern” that drove violence and a breakdown in conditions.

Last April, jail Director Crayman Harvey identified a need to attract better staff in order to change the jail’s culture.