Ex-deputy jailer gets prison time for smuggling drugs into Kenton County jail for payment

A former deputy jailer at the Kenton County Detention Center, who admitted to smuggling contraband into the facility in exchange for online payments, will spend five years in prison.

The sentence handed down Tuesday to 27-year-old Curtis Edwards in Kenton County Circuit Court matches a recommendation from prosecutors reached as part of Edwards’ December guilty plea to promoting contraband.

Edwards’ arrest in April came after the detention center discovered evidence indicating that drugs were being given to inmates by a jail employee, according to the Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office.

An investigation by the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force revealed Edwards was receiving money from people on the outside in exchange for delivering items to inmates.

At least four inmates were involved, according to prosecutors, with the brother of one of them arranging to have items delivered inside the facility through Edwards and handling orders via Cash App.

Ryan King, an agent with the strike force, testified during a hearing in April that Edwards’ Cash App account was referenced in several “chirps,” or inmate text messages to friends and family members.

King said agents received information about Edwards providing meth, Percocet and Suboxone – a controlled substance used to treat opioid-use disorder – to an inmate at the jail.

Court records state that when the inmate was later searched, jail staff discovered Suboxone concealed inside a nicotine pouch container.

Authorities apprehended Edwards as he returned to work from his lunch break early in the morning April 7. He was immediately fired upon his arrest, during which he was found to be carrying contraband.

Edwards told authorities he'd been approached by inmates and that he'd become "too friendly with them," King said.

Edwards admitted to meeting with a woman in Ohio to collect contraband, according to a criminal citation. King said Edwards was paid $505 through Cash App for the transaction.

Edwards’ attorney has yet to respond to an email and voicemail from The Enquirer.

As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors reduced the original charge of engaging in organized crime Edwards was facing in exchange for his testimony against the inmates for whom he was smuggling contraband into the jail.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ex-Kenton County jail deputy gets prison for smuggling drugs into jail