Tonia Tsosie, 29, arrested Wednesday for allegedly asking a co-worker at the San Juan County Detention Center to smuggle marijuana to her jailed husband, told the Farmington Daily Times Thursday she was told to resign or be fired about four hours after her arrest.

Tsosie, who had worked as a guard at the jail since November 2006, told the paper she took the "easy way" and quit.

"I'm not the first one that messed up, but I'm the first one that fessed up to everything," Tsosie told the Daily Times. 

Tsosie, who faces a charge of bringing contraband into a place of confinement, had no prior record of disciplinary action, the Daily Times said.

She allegedly asked a co-worker to bring nearly 15 grams of marijuana hidden in a balloon to her husband, who was being held on an eighth drunken driving charge,  The Associated Press reported earlier this week.

San Juan County CEO Keith Johns told the Daily Times that the county has the right to begin the process of firing the woman because the alleged crime happened at work, rather than at her home or at another setting unrelated to her job.

"If we're moving toward termination, then it's OK for them to say (resign or be fired)," Johns told the paper. "In this case we have the evidence. That's real clear -- we can just move straight forward on this."

Earlier this year, Detention Center Director Tom Havel was placed on paid administrative leave after being arrested on felony domestic violence charge, but was recently reinstated as jail director after all criminal charges were dropped, the Daily Times said. 

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