Cottonwood woman charged with mailing drugs to Tehama County inmate – Anderson inmate also charged

TEHAMA COUNTY, Calif. — Authorities say a Cottonwood woman has been arrested last week after Tehama County jail staff and investigators discovered that she had been mailing drugs to an inmate being housed at the Tehama County Jail.

The inmate she was mailing the drugs to, an Anderson man who has been incarcerated since September on multiple narcotics sales and possession related charges, has also been charged in the case, according to officials.

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The Tehama County Sheriff’s Department began investigating the case after deputies assigned to the Tehama County Jail’s Classification and Investigations Unit discovered controlled substances hidden within mail addressed to inmate Steven Patrick Looysen, 36, of Anderson.

The drug-laden mail had been sent to him by 34-year-old, Christina Lee Agnew, of Cottonwood, according to the Tehama Major Crimes Unit (TMCU), whose deputies and investigators handled the investigation.

Christina Agnew, 34, of Cottonwood, and Tehama County Jail inmate, 36-year-old, Steven Looysen, of Anderson, have been charged with bringing drugs into a jail facility after investigators learned she had been mailing narcotics to the incarcerated man. Tehama County Jail booking photo

During their subsequent investigation, TMCU learned Agnew had possibly mailed multiple letters to Looysen with drugs hidden within the letters; leading them to obtain a search warrant for Agnew’s Cottonwood home.

As a result of the search warrant, TMCU located additional evidence that indicated she had been sending, and was continuing to send narcotics to Looysen through the US mail.

Based on their investigation, on Wednesday, Nov. 3rd, TMCU officials arrested Agnew for bringing a controlled substance into jail. They also re-arrested Looysen and added similar charges to his ongoing court case.

Online jail records indicate Agnew has since been released from custody; while Looysen, who was originally arrested Sept. 2 and charged with possession of narcotics for sales, transportation of narcotics for sales, possession of a controlled substance for sale, sale of a controlled substance – all felonies. He was also booked at the time on three misdemeanors, and he remains in custody where he is being held without bail.



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Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.