INMATE - COCAINE USED TO BUY SOAP

NORTHAMPTON - A former Chicopee man yesterday admitted he arranged
for cocaine to be brought into the Hampshire jail, but his lawyer
said he did it to purchase soap and toothpaste.

"When a person can't wash appropriately, they need to get money to
wash," defense lawyer David Roundtree said.

However, a jail official said that basic hygiene supplies are
provided to inmates who cannot afford to purchase them.

David Barbosa, 31, pleaded guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to
delivering drugs to a correctional facility and possession of cocaine
with intent to distribute. He admitted he arranged for his wife,
Julie Stoi-Barbosa, formerly of Chelsea, to bring a $10 bag of
cocaine to the jail and exchange it through a kiss.

Judge C. Brian McDonald delayed sentencing until Aug. 1 to allow
Barbosa to make arrangements for the care of the couple's 18-month-old son.

Assistant District Attorney Michael A. Cahillane asked that Barbosa
be sentenced to three years in state prison, while Roundtree asked
for one year, the mandatory minimum.

Hampshire Deputy Sheriff Patrick J. Cahillane said yesterday that
basic hygiene products are provided to individuals who do not have
the financial resources to purchase them.

He said he could not comment specifically on Barbosa's case.

In an interview, Roundtree said that jail-provided products are poor quality.

"To get any sort of name brand product or any quality toiletry, you
have to pay for it. He wanted to brush his teeth with Crest instead
of a low-grade product," Roundtree said.

Prosecutor Cahillane, who is a cousin of Patrick Cahillane, said that
on Oct. 17, 2005, Stoi-Barbosa, who is now serving a one-year
sentence for her involvement, brought a bag of cocaine in a balloon
under her tongue during a visit.

After authorities learned that there was cocaine in the facility,
they searched the cell of another inmate and found white powder
residue on a desk that was determined to be cocaine, Cahillane said.

Charges against that inmate, Philip A. Bacon, 24, of 121 South St.,
Williamsburg, are still pending.

In asking for the three-year sentence, Cahillane called Barbosa's
actions "a very serious offense."

"Our (sentencing) recommendation sends a message that introduction of
drugs into a correctional facility will not be tolerated," he said.