EX-GUARD GETS 7 MONTHS FOR GIVING INMATE DRUGS

A former guard accused of smuggling drugs into the Santa Ana city jail for
an inmate with whom she was romantically involved pleaded guilty Thursday
and was sentenced to seven months in jail.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Gary S. Paer imposed the sentence on
Michelle V. Rodriguez after she pleaded guilty to five felony counts that
included furnishing drugs to inmates, prosecutors said.

Rodriguez admitted acting as a drug courier for an inmate by slipping him
books stuffed with methamphetamine. In court documents, she said she made
the drops at least five times between November 1999 and February 2000.
Another guard at the jail uncovered the conspiracy after finding drugs
during a cell search. Rodriguez, who started work at the jail as a civilian
employee in 1997, was fired by the Santa Ana Police Department last October.