Gang boss's DNA 'found at prison governor's flat'

A prison governor has denied being in a relationship with the boss of a drugs gang even though his DNA was found on a toothbrush and flip-flops at her flat.

Kerri Pegg, 42, is on trial accused of misconduct in a public office after allegedly helping Merseyside criminal Anthony Saunderson get day-release from HMP Kirkham in Lancashire.

She told Preston Crown Court that while she had been "incredibly stupid", she believed his DNA had got into her flat because she had taken her toothbrush into work.

Ms Pegg is also accused of failing to declare County Court Judgments (CCJs) to Prison Service bosses and accepting a £12,000 Mercedes car from Saunderson, paid for with drugs, after his 2019 release.

The jury has previously heard how Ms Pegg was seen as a "rising star" in the Prison Service, climbing the career ladder from graduate entrant to prison governor within six years.

The prosecution allege she began spending more and more time with Saunderson as he came towards the end of his 10-year sentence

Prosecutor Barbara Louise-Webster, cross examining Ms Pegg, showed jurors the Size 10 Hugo Boss flip-flops that had been found in her apartment.

She suggested Saunderson had been visiting her "a number of times, because you were having a relationship?"

"No," replied Ms Pegg.

Ms Webster continued: "That's the reason there's a toothbrush with his DNA on it, in your flat. You accept the Hugo Boss flip-flops found in your flat had his DNA and your DNA?"

"Yes," Ms Pegg said.

"What size are you?" Ms Webster said.

"Me, I'm size four," Pegg replied.

Earlier in the trial, a tearful Ms Pegg told jurors she did not think she had done anything wrong.

The prosecution said police seized a Mercedes C class saloon outside her home in November 2019.

In addition to the flip-flops and toothbrush, officers also found designer clothes, shoes, handbags and jewellery inside her apartment in Orrell, Wigan.

The court heard Saunderson had been given a 10-year jail term in November 2014 for drugs conspiracy and money laundering.

He was moved to HMP Kirkham in June 2017.

Ms Pegg is alleged to have broken prison rules by approving his temporary release from custody without proper authority.

Two months after his release in May 2019, the court heard he became involved in another conspiracy to supply drugs and was later identified as the boss of a drug gang.

He was found to have been using the handle Jesse Pinkman - referring to a drug-dealing character of that name in the TV crime drama Breaking Bad - to communicate on the Encrochat encrypted mobile phone network.

At the same time, in July 2019, the court heard Saunderson was contracted by some prisons to run a project, titled Breaking Alcohol and Drug Dependency (BADD).

Ms Pegg, who was involved in co-ordinating drug strategy in a number of prisons, said she was "passionate" about the BADD project and thought of Saunderson not as an ex-inmate but a "colleague".

She said this explained her contact with him.

Later, when police cracked the Encrochat system, it revealed Saunderson's drug dealing and his alleged relationship with Ms Pegg.

She denies two counts of misconduct in a public office, one by having a relationship with Saunderson and the second by failing to disclose the CCJs.

She also denies one count of possessing criminal property, namely the Mercedes from Saunderson.

The trial was adjourned until Friday.

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