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2 face additional charges after attempts to bring drugs into jail

JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — Two people in custody will face additional charges after authorities say they attempted to bring drugs into jail with them.

Deborah Daniel, 49, faces preliminary misdemeanor charges that include driving while suspended, possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia, as well as a felony charge of possession of methamphetamine.

James Beatty, 19, faces preliminary misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance.

These separate, overnight instances of arrestees attempting to bring concealed items into jail highlight a source of other problems faced by jails. According to Johnson County Sheriff Doug Cox:

People wonder how drugs get into our jails. Sometimes this is how. It requires the jail staff to be on their toes. People wonder how people die in the jail. Sometimes this is how. More times than not, the person is in more trouble for the items they are trying to sneak into the jail than they are for the traffic offenses for which they were stopped.”

The first incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. A Johnson County deputy driving on State Road 135 just south of Fairview Road in Greenwood ran a plate that came back to the suspended license of Deborah Daniel, after which he conducted a traffic stop.

After the deputy’s K-9 partner indicated the possible presence of narcotics, a search of Daniel’s car uncovered a small tin with a pipe and green plant material believed to be marijuana.

The deputy arrested Daniel for driving while suspended with a previous conviction and transported her to the Johnson County Jail, where a body search revealed Daniel had attempted to conceal a small plastic bag containing a crystal-like substance inside her body. Daniel said she believed the substance was cocaine; however, a field test kit determined it was methamphetamine.

The second incident happened Wednesday around 11:15 p.m. at the intersection of Smith Valley and Paddock roads, when a deputy responded to a welfare check after a report that someone was getting outside a car and then driving erratically. The deputy a traffic stop with Beatty, who informed him he was driving distracted because of his phone and had gotten sick due to the influenza. The deputy noticed Beatty was acting nervous, and after a another deputy’s K-9 partner indicated the possible presence of narcotics, he asked Beatty to exit the car. During that exit, the deputy observed a bag of what appeared to be marijuana, as well as a bad containing two white pills confirmed to be Xanax.

The deputy transported Beatty to the Johnson County Jail, asking him if he had any other illegal items on his person. According to the deputy’s report, Beatty confirmed he did not. However, after jail staff informed him they’d be taking his clothing, he handed the deputy a second bag of marijuana that had been hidden in his sock.

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