Stillwater inmate, ex-officer sentenced in meth distribution conspiracy

BAYPORT, Minn. — An inmate at the Stillwater corrections facility and a former corrections officer who worked there have been sentenced for their roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy. 
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota says 37-year-old Axel Rene Kramer is sentenced to 180 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release. The sentence adds to the 24 years he’s serving for second-degree murder. 
Faith Rose Gratz, 26, is sentenced to 27 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. 
Kramer and another inmate worked with drug sources outside the prison to arrange meet-up times and locations where Gratz would pick up the drugs, the attorney’s office says. 
Gratz used her position as a guard to then smuggle the drugs inside the Stillwater facility and would provide drugs to Kramer while she was on duty guarding him. Court documents say this happened around six times. 
The attorney’s office says Gratz also smuggled multiple cell phones into the prison for Kramer. He would then use those phones to communicate, about the drugs, with people inside and outside the prison. 
Kramer pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in January and was sentenced Tuesday. 
Gratz pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced Friday. 
The FBI, Bayport Police Department and Minnesota Department of Corrections are investigating the case.