Former jailer found innocent of trying to smuggle drugs

By D.a. Wilkinson

LISBON — Smuggling drugs into Columbiana County Jail is a small but continuing problem.

Even tobacco is smuggled into the smoke-free facility.

Dan Downard, the head of the county’s task force, said Thursday there is a simple reason for the trade in contraband.

“Once it goes inside the facility, it takes on a whole new value,” he said.

Downard spoke while a former jailer was awaiting a verdict in county Common Pleas Court on a charge of illegal conveyance of prohibited items into a detention facility.

Jason Jackson, 30, of Irish Ridge Road, East Liverpool, was indicted after he was reportedly caught trying to bring two packages of loose-leaf tobacco that were left inside the bed of his pickup. Inside one of the packages was a bag that contained 3.7 grams of marijuana.

But a jury found him innocent after deliberating for several hours.

The contraband was “intended for distribution to inmates in the Columbiana County Jail,” according to court records.

A gram of marijuana may not have a high value on the street, but the amount involved in the case could sell inside the jail for $100, Downard said.

The tobacco would also carry a high value.

Jackson reportedly tried to smuggle the packages about 9:40 p.m. March 4, 2007.

He’s one of three defendants charged with similar crimes around that time.

One person was found guilty and was sentenced, and another pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

Jackson told jail authorities that he was being set up.

He said that he went to his truck in the jail parking lot after being told there would be something in it.

Jackson said he saw a plastic shopping bag in the bed of the truck, unlocked the vehicle, placed the bag on the seat and opened it. He said he was then taken into custody before he could report to a superior officer.

John Gamble, the chief assistant prosecutor who handled the trial, could not be reached.

Downard doesn’t believe there is a large smuggling operation at the jail.

“There’s nothing to point to that,” he said.

The county jail is owned by the commissioners who lease it to CiviGenics, of Marlborough, Mass. Jackson had been employed by the company.

The latest smuggling effort uncovered at the jail is that a few women reporting to serve their sentences unsuccessfully tried to hide prescription drugs inside their bodies.

The drugs have been sent for analysis that will determine if charges will be filed.

“We’ll follow up on any leads,” Downard said.

wilkinson@vindy.com