Scott Braden

A Butler man, charged with possessing contraband in the Butler County Prison, pleaded guilty to the crime in county court on Tuesday.

Scott W. Braden, 35, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor contraband before county Judge William Shaffer.

He was initially charged with a felony count, which was changed to a misdemeanor as part of the plea, and will be sentenced to six to 12 months in the county prison. With time served, he will be paroled at the time of sentencing.

The plea also calls for probation, restitution, fines and costs, when he is sentenced later.

Authorities said Braden was part of a plot to smuggle contraband into the prison through the mail system on Dec. 4, 2016.

Police said Braden was sent the mail from Jamie L. Uber, 32, 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 her boyfriend, Matthew N. Ford, 30, Suboxone 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.

Uber and Ford were charged in two separate incidents, with Ford sentenced to three to six years in a state correctional facility.