Ryan C. Mullen

A Butler man, charged with possessing and consuming a controlled substance in a courtroom, was sentenced to county prison in Butler County Court on Thursday.

Ryan C. Mullen, 31, 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 after an incident at District Judge William Fullerton's office on Feb. 27.

Mullen was being held following an alleged knife-wielding attack against another man, which has since been dismissed, when police say his mother, Tina L. Rivera, 48, of Butler Township, slipped him a Suboxone strip as he sat in handcuffs in the courtroom awaiting a preliminary hearing.

Rivera was also charged with felony counts of furnishing a controlled substance to an inmate, conspiracy and delivering a controlled substance, conspiracy to contraband and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.

A full report will appear in the Butler Eagle.