Police say drug given in court
A mother is accused of slipping her son a Suboxone strip as he sat in handcuffs in a crowded courtroom while awaiting his preliminary hearing in Butler.
Tina L. Rivera, 48, of Butler Township is charged with making the secret delivery to son Ryan C. Mullen, who allegedly consumed it in front of a judge.
At least two onlookers watched in apparent disbelief before later notifying police. A surveillance camera caught the caper Monday afternoon on video.
“I was shocked,” police Capt. James Hollobaugh said in describing his first reaction upon reviewing the video.
Police on Wednesday arrested Rivera on felony charges of furnishing a controlled substance to an inmate, conspiracy and delivering a controlled substance.
She is being held in the Butler County Prison on $10,000 bail.
Her 31-year-old son of Butler Township has been in the county lockup since Feb. 19 when he was arrested after an alleged knife-wielding attack against another man.
He now faces additional charges, including possession of a controlled substance by an inmate and conspiracy to possess a controlled substance.
Butler police officers, in the latest case, escorted Mullen into District Judge William Fullerton's courtroom about 1:30 p.m. Monday for his scheduled hearing in the suspected assault.
Dressed in prison attire and shackled, he was seated against the wall on one side of the room with other inmates, who also were there for hearings.
Rivera sat down near her son and spoke to him as Fullerton presided over an unrelated hearing. Authorities did not notice any wrongdoing.
But after the hearing ended, two witnesses who had been in the courtroom approached police to tell them they had seen Rivera give something to her son.
One of the witnesses recounted seeing her remove a Suboxone strip from her purse and give it to Mullen, who had his hands cuffed in front of him.
He placed the strip under his tongue, according to the witness account.Suboxone is a narcotic-based drug prescribed to treat addiction to heroin and powerful painkillers such as oxycodone. It comes in thin strips, which dissolve under the tongue.Mullen's hearing was eventually continued and he was returned to the prison shortly before 3 p.m.Police Capt. James Hollobaugh advised a correctional officer about his suspicion that the inmate had consumed the drug. Prison officials were asked to strip search and drug test him.Hollobaugh on Tuesday reviewed surveillance footage from the courtroom.The video, he said, showed Rivera going through her purse before leaning forward and placing something in her son's right hand.“Mullen immediately turned around in his seat (away from the camera), leans over and places his hands toward his face,” according to an affidavit.Results of Mullen's drug test subsequently revealed the presence of buprenorphine, the generic name for Suboxone.
