Trumbull jail officer indicted on drug charges

Photo

Sarah L. Graham

Staff report

WARREN

Sarah L. Graham, a Trumbull County corrections officer since June 2006, has been fired as a result of an indictment handed up by a grand jury Wednesday charging her with 12 counts of using deception to obtain a dangerous drug.

Graham, 23, of Howland, will be arraigned at 2 p.m. next Thursday before Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. The charges carry a penalty of up to 12 years in prison if she’s convicted.

Chief Donald Guarino of the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Department said the charges do not relate to her work at the Trumbull County jail.

Graham was working three days per week as a corrections officer and two days per week as a program coordinator, Guarino said. In her program-coordinator position, Graham applied for grants for programs such as a targeted seat-belt enforcement.

A Mahoning County officer with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency conducted the investigation into the alleged crimes, Guarino said. But a spokesperson for the Youngstown DEA office said no information on it was available.

Graham’s indictment said she used deception to obtain the drug Tramadol 12 times between July 2009 and August 2010.

On Wednesday, Graham was placed on five days’ paid administrative leave, Guarino said. After those five days, she will go on unpaid leave.

She has five days to decide whether to challenge her termination, Guarino said.

Graham was charged administratively by the sheriff’s department with several violations of departmental regulations, including ones regarding using common sense; violating the alcohol-use policy; committing unsafe acts; dishonesty or untruthfulness; observance of laws; and possession of illegal or unauthorized drugs.

Chris Becker, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor who presented the case to the grand jury, said he could not comment on specifics of her alleged crimes, such as where they took place.