CORRECTIONS OFFICERS CHARGED WITH BRINGING TOBACCO, DRUGS TO
JAIL

Three corrections officers at the Central Regional Jail in Braxton
County have been charged with bringing tobacco and drugs into the
jail for inmates and at least one fellow officer.

State Police arrested the officers late Thursday and early Friday at
their homes in Nicholas and Braxton counties, said Trooper Bill
Huddleston at the Sutton detachment. All three have been charged with
conspiracy. Two have been charged with illegally bringing items into
the jail and selling them for profit.

Huddleston said information is "cascading" out of the investigation
and additional personnel at the jail might face charges.

The officers were arraigned by Braxton County Magistrate Nancy Means
and released on bond. Cassandra Lynn Putnam, 24, of Mt. Nebo, is
accused of bringing about a half a gram of cocaine into the jail and
giving it to another corrections officer, Huddleston said. Police
said she also brought at least three plastic cigarette lighters to
the jail and sold them to inmates.

Huddleston said investigators believe the cocaine was meant for the
personal use of the corrections officer who received it. Putnam has
been released on a $7,000 bond. Another officer, Trevor Lee Ward, 37,
of Mt. Nebo, is accused of bringing cans of snuff and selling it to inmates.

A can of snuff went for about $100, Huddleston said. Ward was
released on $5,000 bond. Huddleston did not know how much tobacco
Ward was able to bring into the jail or how much money the officers
allegedly made by selling the contraband. "I'm sure there was much
more that got in," Huddleston said. Huddleston said Ward and Putnam
were involved in a relationship and they lived together.

The trooper said there were children at their home when the two
officers were arrested and that neighbors took temporary custody.

The third officer, Okey Ferrell Smith, of Gassaway, was charged with
one count of conspiracy for allegedly bringing in packages of loose
cigarette tobacco into the jail and selling it to inmates.

He's out of jail on $3,000 bond. Joe Thornton, deputy director of the
state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, said today
that Putnam resigned from her job during the investigation. The other
two officers currently are on suspension. Thornton said he did not
know how long the officers had worked at the jail. The investigation
began when an inmate came forward and told a jail supervisor about
the contraband, Huddleston said. The jail's administrator found out
and contacted the State Police. The officers were brought to Sutton
detachment of the State Police, about 50 yards away from the jail,
and interviewed, Huddleston said.