Tina Rivera

A Butler woman was sentenced to the county Intermediate Punishment Program in Butler County Court after being charged with delivering drugs to her son while he was handcuffed in a courtroom awaiting proceedings in February 2017.

Tina L. Rivera, 49, was sentenced to 36 months of the program with the first nine months on house arrest with electronic monitoring by President Judge Thomas Doerr.

She was also ordered to pay court costs and a $500 fine.

She previously pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to commit possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance Feb. 28.

Butler police initially charged her with felony charges of furnishing a controlled substance to an inmate, conspiracy and delivering a controlled substance in an incident at District Judge William Fullerton's office on Feb. 27, 2017. The remaining charges were dismissed as part of the plea.

Police said Rivera delivered a Suboxone strip to son Ryan C. Mullen, 31, of Butler, as he sat in handcuffs in a crowded courtroom while awaiting his preliminary hearing in Butler. He allegedly consumed it in front of a judge.

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 previously pleaded guilty Sept. 27 to misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 11½ to 23½ months in Butler County Prison by Judge Timothy McCune.

He was initially charged with felony possession of a controlled substance by an inmate, conspiracy to that count and conspiracy to possess a controlled substance. As part of the plea, some charges were changed, while others were dropped.

Mullen was being held following Feb. 19, 2017, alleged knife-wielding attack against another man, which has since been dismissed,

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, when two witnesses reported to police that they had seen Rivera give something to Mullen, who then placed the strip under his tongue.

Surveillance footage showed Rivera giving Mullen the item, police said.

Results of Mullen's drug test subsequently revealed the presence of buprenorphine, the generic name for Suboxone.

Rivera apologized during the proceeding, saying she was “sorry for the trouble I caused” and is addressing those issues with drug treatment.