Alleged trafficker requests bond reduction
GREENCASTLE -- The attorney representing an Indianapolis woman who has been in jail since her Sept. 17 arrest has filed a motion for bond reduction on behalf of her client.
Joni M. Wood, 20, is charged with Class C felony trafficking with an inmate and Class A misdemeanor possession of marijuana. At her initial hearing on Sept. 18 in Putnam County Superior Court, Judge Pro Tem Scott Hoff set Wood's bond at $10,000 cash. A hearing to determine whether or not that bond will be reduced is set for Oct. 5.
Public defender Trudy Selvia was selected to represent Wood.
Wood was arrested at the Putnamville Correctional Facility, where court records said prison officials found her to be in possession of "two hidden balloons containing what appeared to be a controlled substance" when they conducted a pat-down search of Wood, who was at the prison to visit an offender.
According to a release provided by Putnamville Correctional Facility, the substance in the balloons was found to be marijuana.
The offender Wood was at the prison to visit was James Smith, 29, of Indianapolis. Smith is serving a sentence on a Marion County conviction for Class B felony carjacking, and his projected release date is listed at the Indiana Department of Correction Web site as Jan. 29, 2015.
Pending the outcome of the investigation into the alleged trafficking incident, Smith may face further criminal charges.
Wood is scheduled for a pretrial conference on Nov. 2. If she is convicted on both charges, she could be sentenced to a maximum of nine years in prison.