Inmate faces charges after deputies recover fentanyl pills he swallowed

An inmate inside the Pueblo County Jail has received new charges after deputies recovered nearly 40 fentanyl pills that he swallowed prior to his arrest.

According to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, deputies received information that an inmate, 39-year-old Chad Edmonds, had possibly ingested drugs prior to being arrested and booked into the Pueblo County Jail on two outstanding warrants.

He refused the accusations, but deputies suggested having a body scan done as the inmate refused, but later agreed. Edmonds was then taken to a local hospital on Wednesday, and the scan showed there were from 20 to 30 "small, round" items in his intestines, according to the sheriff's office.

Edmonds then admitted to swallowing a bag of fentanyl pills prior to his arrest and that's when he was transported back to the jail where he was placed in a dry jail where he was closely monitored until he passed the bag of pills

Deputies say when the bag passed, deputies discovered that it had contained 37 fentanyl pills. Edmonds was then charged with second-degree introduction of contraband, possession of contraband, unlawful distribution and unlawful possession of a controlled substance and was issued a $50,000 cash bond on Friday.

He remains in the county jail on a bond that's total to $65,000.