Woman sentenced to prison after concealing gun in her bra in jail

A New Carlisle woman convicted of concealing an unloaded .22-caliber pistol in her bra in the Miami County Jail was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison by a judge who called the behavior “flat out dangerous.”

Cassondra Workman, 25, was charged with felony illegal conveyance into a facility May 21 after being taken to the jail by Troy police who arrested her on a warrant out of Clark County.

Sheriff’s department reports said Workman told them she was able to conceal the weapon in her clothing and then in the shower before concealing it in the waistband of her jail uniform. Reports said Workman was placed in the jail indoor rec area to wait until Clark County deputies arrived. Before being transferred to those deputies, she changed back into her clothing in a shower room and said she put the gun in her bra at that time.

A Clark County deputy patting down Workman before leaving the jail, found the firearm in her bra, took possession of it and told corrections staff.

Workman pleaded guilty Aug. 15.

She told Judge Jeannine Pratt on Monday that she had made bad choices and had been working to change her life since the jail incident.

Paul Watkins, an assistant county prosecutor, said the scenario presented by Workman is “the worst fear” of correction officers in the jail. “The message needs to be sent that safety not only of correction officers but jail inmates is priority,” Watkins said.

Pratt told Workman the situation could have had tragic results. Her behavior, Pratt said, went beyond serious. “It’s flat out dangerous,” the judge said

Miami County Sheriff Dave Duchak said an administrative review of the incident showed Workman likely concealed the unloaded gun between her thighs and, after the jail search, inserted the pistol into her bra. She was never put into the jail’s general population, he said.

A body scanner installed in recent days at the jail will assist in averting similar situations, Duchak said. Training on scanner use begins Tuesday with hopes the unit will be in use in early October, he said Monday.

The correction officer who searched Workman was a newer employee and the incident was attributed to “human error/negligence,” Duchak said. The officer received corrective action, he said.

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