PLAINFIELD — Officers made another trafficking arrest at the Plainfield Correctional Facility this week. Kimberly Keller, 38, was charged with trafficking and possession of marijuana.
Keller, a Fort Wayne resident, was visiting offender Bobby Freeman on Tuesday afternoon when Department of Corrections staff observed her pass something to him, according to reports.
The visit was immediately terminated and IDOC officials say Freeman was found in possession of a “green, leafy” substance that tested positive for marijuana.
Phil Slavens, assistant superintendent of re-entry at the PCF, said the arrest was a result of staff diligence.
“It happened right in the visiting room,” he said. “You never really know what’s going to happen so you immediately separate the offender.”
Slavens said trafficking happens in virtually every prison.
“People see easy money to be made,” he said.
PCF officer Travis Paul Wilbur was arrested on felony trafficking charges in early June.
“It can be guards or offender visitors,” Slavens said. “I worked at the facility in Putnam County. There the facility butts up against U.S. 40. People were throwing tennis balls in there.”
He said traffickers come up with some very creative ways to smuggle cigarettes or drugs into a facility.
“Not here, but in other facilities we’ve had people FedEx items into the warehouse,” Slavens said. “Then there would be an offender inside looking for the box to arrive.”
He said the worse thing about trafficking is that it can eventually escalate to worse crimes.
“It makes it dangerous for our staff,” Slavens said. “An offender says you brought me cigarettes, now I will tell what you did unless you bring me a gun. At first, the money sounds good and it’s all so simple. It never ends up good.”
Keller was questioned and then arrested by PCF officers Frank Vanihel and Richard Gaskin. She was transported to the Hendricks County Jail in Danville and preliminarily charged with trafficking more than 30 grams, a class C felony, and possession of marijuana, a class A misdemeanor.
Freeman remains in segregation until the investigation is complete. Slavens, said he may also be charged with a felony. Freemen is currently serving a 20-year sentence for battery, a two-year sentence for car theft, and a two-year sentence for receiving stolen property. His earliest release date is Jan. 10, 2015.
Superintendent Brian Smith also credited PCF staff for their quick actions
“As this event took place in the visiting room, with other visitors and offenders present, the professionalism of the staff involved kept the situation as calm as possible without endangering others and achieving the desired result,” Smith said in a press release. “(Which was) keeping a controlled substance from entering the facility and apprehending those responsible for attempting to do so.”
brenda.holmes@flyergroup.com
'Babyland': Camp Lejeune's Toxic Legacy?
Raw: Heavy Tornado Damage in Shawnee, Okla
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
