• Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Jobs
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Law Officer
Law Officer
No Result
View All Result

Guard in love with murderer brought him cellphones and meth to deal in prison

A 24-year-old prison guard smuggled a murderer she was guarding cellphones and meth to sell, sending him "hundreds" of texts "about their romantic relationship" in the process. She was busted with $20,000 worth of drugs in her car.

Faith Rose Gratz

Faith Rose Gratz and Axel Rene Kramer. (Washington County Jail & MN DOC)

June 25, 2022
Alpha NewsbyAlpha News
Share and speak up for justice, law & order...

BAYPORT, Minn. – A corrections officer worked with a convicted murderer and gang member who she was in a “romantic relationship” with to sell methamphetamine in MCF–Stillwater, Minnesota’s largest high-security prison.

Alpha News previously reported on the guard’s arrest, but now she’s been charged and the DOJ has released new details about the case against her. According to the charges, the guard, whose name is Faith Rose Gratz, 24, “obtained wholesale quantities of prepackaged methamphetamine” from drug dealers. At the time of her arrest she was in possession of half a pound of meth. Reports on similar busts indicate that half a pound is worth well over $20,000.

She then “used her position as a prison guard to smuggle the drugs into the secure facility and then provide the drugs to [Axel Rene] Kramer while she was on duty guarding him.” Kramer is a 34-year-old convicted of second-degree murder serving a 19-year sentence after he helped kill a man in 2007. The killing was a result of his membership in the Latin Kings, a racial gang he was able to join because of his Guatemalan background, news reports from the time say. Kramer’s gang burned the body of the man they killed.

The guard smuggled meth to Kramer about half a dozen times, per the DOJ, coordinating the operation with him via multiple cellphones she also smuggled into the prison for him to use. “Kramer used the cellphones to communicate with people inside and outside the prison and to facilitate his drug distribution network from within the prison,” the DOJ said.

“Gratz and Kramer exchanged hundreds of text messages with each other … about the drug distribution conspiracy as well as discussions about their romantic relationship,” court documents allege. The guard also warned the killer ahead of searches so he could hide his phones and meth.

Romantic relationships between prisoners and female guards are not uncommon. According to a federal report on the matter, about half (48%) of proven incidents of sexual victimization in jail occurred between guards and inmates. While all relationships between guards and prisoners are legally considered abusive, 84% of sexual contact between female guards and prisoners “appeared to be willing,” per the report.

Experts say it is “very easy” for female guards to have sex with prisoners and not get caught, and that many inmates are more than willing to exploit otherwise unattractive women — trading sexual attention for special treatment.

“If they don’t have anybody at home or their man is not treating them right and then they come to work and this man is full of compliments and just telling them that he loves them and he gone suck them in,” a longtime female prison guard told ABC News. “Once you get sucked in, you not thinking it’s wrong.”

A recent incident in Alabama saw an “exemplary” female prison guard help a male murderer turned lover break out of prison, illustrating this dynamic and grabbing international headlines.


Editor’s note: This story originally appeared at Alpha News. 


Share and speak up for justice, law & order...
Tags: Axel Rene KramerFaith Rose GratzLatin KingsMinnesota
Alpha News

Alpha News

We are a team of independent journalists seeking out and reporting stories that the citizens of Minnesota deserve to know, the same news that the mainstream media all too often refuses to report and routinely disregards. Our dedication to uncovering the truth is persistent and unwavering.

Related Posts

stolen vehicle

VIDEO: Teens crash stolen vehicle, flee police on highway

August 9, 2022
Dallas Edeburn

‘Valiant’ Minnesota sheriff’s deputy found mysteriously dead in patrol unit

August 4, 2022
Gordon Roy Villagomez

Felon free on stayed sentences now charged in Northeast Minneapolis home invasion

July 30, 2022
Hakeem Waheed Muhammed

Charges filed against criminal who killed 6-year-old while fleeing police

July 20, 2022
Molly Cheng

Minnesota man dies by suicide; hours later mother drowns three children before killing herself

July 6, 2022
murder suspect

Minor traffic stop leads to arrest of murder suspect

June 24, 2022
Load More

Latest Articles

Narcotics Anonymous

Hostage situation at Narcotics Anonymous meeting leaves 3 dead, including hostage taker

August 9, 2022
Buddy Hardwood

North Carolina sheriff equips school resource officers with AR-15 rifles

August 9, 2022
Monterey Park officer

Off-duty California officer shot and killed in gym parking lot

August 9, 2022
Nicole Linton

Teary-eyed nurse accused of killing six people in fiery LA crash charged with multiple counts of murder

August 9, 2022
stolen vehicle

VIDEO: Teens crash stolen vehicle, flee police on highway

August 9, 2022
civility

Civility cannot be achieved without morality

August 9, 2022
Load More

Weekly E-Newsletter

Subscribe—and get the latest news and editorials direct from Law Officer each week!

[newsletter_form type="minimal"]

MUST READ

Buddy Hardwood

North Carolina sheriff equips school resource officers with AR-15 rifles

August 9, 2022
Nicole Linton

Teary-eyed nurse accused of killing six people in fiery LA crash charged with multiple counts of murder

August 9, 2022
civility

Civility cannot be achieved without morality

August 9, 2022
Pete Arredondo

Uvalde school district searching for interim police chief as Pete Arredondo awaits termination hearing

August 8, 2022
brothers

Chicago Police Officer Ella French honored one year after her murder

August 7, 2022
Load More

JOIN THE FIGHT

SAFEGUARD RECRUITING

Police Officers Needed – Entry level and lateral applicants wanted!

February 14, 2022

Deputy Sheriff

February 3, 2022

Dispatcher

January 25, 2022

Deputy Sheriff (POST Certified)

January 25, 2022

BE COURAGEOUS

FIND MORE…

Law Officer

© 2021 LawOfficer.com

LawOfficer.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact

Speak up for justice, law & order

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Jobs
  • Contact

© 2021 LawOfficer.com