When you are on probation, arrested for a probation violation and transported to jail, it’s probably best not to try to sneak drugs into the correctional facility.
Keith David McCoy discovered the wisdom of this after being sentenced to eighteen months in prison after he was caught smuggling a baggie of suboxone into the Tri-County Regional Jail. McCoy (37) of Richwood was on probation for a period of 5-years for a 2017 conviction for the crime of theft from a person in a protected class and forgery when he stole over $17,000 from his grandmother.
Following his conviction, McCoy was placed in drug court and was in and out of jail after several community control violations, ultimately doing a stint in West Central Community Correction Facility. Before the termination of his community control by the court, McCoy was arrested for a community control violation in February of 2022 and taken to jail by probation officers. There he was searched by jail staff and found to have a plastic baggie with suboxone hidden in his sock. McCoy attempted to convince officers the baggie contained a band-aid. Forensic testing by BCI showed the substance was, in fact, drugs.
McCoy was indicted by the Union County Grand Jury and charged with Illegal Conveyance of Drugs, a felony of the third degree and misdemeanor possession. He pleaded guilty to the charges in May of 2023. On, July 5, McCoy was sentenced by Judge Mark O’Connor to a term of 18 months in prison for the conveyance of drugs into Tri-County. McCoy was sentenced to an additional 180-day jail term for drug possession which, by law, must be served concurrently with the prison term.
Many offenders in jail have a substance abuse disorder. Transporting drugs of any kind into a prison or jail not only affects security, safety and order of the facility but can also adversely affect detainees whose addiction was a driving factor behind their incarceration. It is a serious crime, and one which we do not take lightly.