Staff report

LEAVITTSBURG — A Cleveland man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for attempting to smuggle contraband into Trumbull Correctional Institution while he was employed there.

James P. Jackson, 40, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster after pleading guilty in July to Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right for accepting money to smuggle two packages into a prison using his capacity as an employee of the facility. Jackson was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment.

According to court documents, Jackson was employed by TCI from 2022 through 2024, where he served as a corrections officer and later, as a general maintenance worker. His work duties and responsibilities allowed him full access to non-public areas, including prison cells where he interacted regularly with inmates.

Jackson was found to be communicating with a woman associate of a TCI inmate. They eventually agreed to meet so she could give Jackson packages to deliver to the inmate, who was serving a sentence inside the facility. In return, Jackson accepted an initial bribe of $1,000 from her and was promised an additional $1,000 after the contraband was successfully delivered to the intended recipient.

Upon attempting to take the packages into TCI, Jackson was intercepted by law enforcement. The investigation revealed that the packages Jackson received — and attempted to smuggle into the prison — contained 97.67 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, 207.63 grams of synthetic cannabinoid, 32.85 grams of phencyclidine (aka PCP or angel dust), various other drugs, a cellphone and SIM cards.

This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Trumbull Correctional Institutions-Office of Investigations, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol-Office of Criminal Investigations Prison Drug Unit, and Investigative Services for the Warren District.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chelsea S. Rice for the Northern District of Ohio.