Former guard pleads guilty to smuggling drugs into prison

Former Lebanon Correctional Institution Officer Walter Richardson, pleaded guilty to smuggling drugs into the prison.

Richardson, 23, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegal conveyance of drugs into a detention facility and possession of drugs in Warren County Common Pleas Court.

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Because Richardson was an employee of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, a mandatory prison term is required.

On Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, Richardson reported to duty at LeCI and was subjected to a routine administrative inspection.

Prison officials discovered that he had 100 Suboxone strips concealed in the finger of a rubber glove in his pocket. Further investigation revealed another inmate, who Richardson would not identify, paid Richardson $1,000 to deliver a package of the drugs into the institution.

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Richardson immediately resigned his employment and was placed under arrest.

“This is the second conviction within the past month of a corrections officer attempting to convey drugs into one of our local prisons. We hope this sends a message to other prison personnel that if we catch you bringing drugs into the prison, you’ll be joining the inmates behind bars,” Warren County Prosecutor David P. Fornshell said in a press release.