2 sentenced for prison contraband
Two people, charged in related contraband incidents at the Butler County Prison, were sentenced to probation in county court on Thursday.
Scott W. Braden, 35, of Butler was immediately paroled on time served after receiving a sentence of six to 12 months in the Butler County Prison, followed by 12 months of county probation, while Jamie L. Uber, 33, of Eau Claire was sentenced to 15 months of county probation and 20 hours of community service in two contraband cases, by Judge William Shaffer.
Shaffer also allowed Braden to be paroled to a Veteran's Association treatment center in Bath, N.Y., where he wishes to seek drug and alcohol treatment.
Uber previously pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of contraband, after two separate incidents on Dec. 28 and Jan. 3. Police said in both those incidents, Uber was accused of smuggling Suboxone into the prison, to her boyfriend Matthew N. Ford, 30.
She apologized to the court, saying “I'm sorry for my actions, and it will never happen again.”
Uber would send the drugs through the mail disguised as legal correspondence, police said.
The plan was foiled after officials discovered the scheme while listening to jail phone calls.
Police said the two would send correspondence from a Pittsburgh attorney, but when the attorney was contacted, he said Ford was not a client, nor had he sent any mail there.
Inside the envelopes, police said several pages describing the county's drug court were found, but a closer inspection turned up Suboxone strips in between pages that had been glued together.
Braden was charged in a related incident on Dec. 4, where police said the same scheme was used.
Police said Braden was sent the mail from Uber, again disguised as legal correspondence, with the return address of a Pittsburgh attorney, who said Braden was not a client and that he never sent any mail to him or to the prison.
During the investigation police said Braden admitted that he knew Uber had been sending Suboxone to Ford through the mail for 10 months, and he had been selling it inside the facility. He admitted to paying $300 for the items being smuggled into the facility.
Ford was previously sentenced to three to six years in a state correctional facility.
