A Cleveland man has been sentenced to prison for trying to bring contraband into the prison where he was employed.
James P. Jackson, 40, was sentenced to 30 months by U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster after pleading guilty in July to Hobbs Act extortion under color of official power for receiving money to smuggle two items into a jail while working there.
According to an announcement from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, Jackson was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following his imprisonment. Judge Polster imposed the punishment on December 4th.
According to court filings, Jackson worked at the Trumbull Correctional Institution (TCI) in Leavittsburg from 2022 to 2024 as a prison officer and later as a general maintenance worker.
His job tasks and responsibilities afforded him complete access to non-public places, including prison cells, where he frequently engaged with inmates.
According to the release, he was discovered speaking with a female companion of a TCI inmate.
They eventually agreed to meet so she could give Jackson items to present to an inmate serving a sentence at the jail.
According to the statement, Jackson accepted an initial payment of $1,000 from her and was promised an extra $1,000 after the contraband was given to the inmate.
Jackson was stopped by law officials as he attempted to take the goods into the facility.
According to the announcement, the investigation indicated that the shipments Jackson received and attempted to conceal contained the following items:
- 97.67 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine
- 207.63 grams of synthetic cannabinoid
- 32.85 grams of phencyclidine (aka PCP or angel dust)
- various other drugs
- a cellphone
- SIM cards
This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Trumbull Correctional Institutions-Office of Investigations, the Ohio State Highway Patrol-Office of Criminal Investigations Prison Drug Unit, and Warren District Investigative Services.
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