Woman sentenced for trafficking with an inmate

Thursday, July 23, 2009

GREENCASTLE -- An Indianapolis woman has been sentenced to jail time for trafficking with an inmate at the Putnamville Correctional Facility.

Putnam County Circuit Court Judge Matthew Headley ordered Lynette L. Lauderdale, 22, a two-year Indiana Department of Correction Sentence with 270 days executed and the remainder spent on probation.

Lauderdale pled guilty to Class D felony attempted trafficking with an inmate outside a facility, for which she could have received a maximum three-year sentence. Under the terms of a plea agreement, charges of Class C felony trafficking with and inmate and Class A misdemeanor possession of marijuana against Lauderdale were dismissed.

Lauderdale was arrested after she tried to pass marijuana to Putnamville Correctional inmate John Shirley on Jan. 4 during a visit with him at the Putnamville State Farm, court records said.

Lauderdale initially pled not guilty to all charges, but entered a guilty plea to the Class D felony on June 1.

Shirley is serving an eight-year sentence for a 2007 Class B felony conviction for possession of cocaine or narcotics. No additional charges have been filed against Shirley as a result of the trafficking incident.

Court records said Lauderdale and Shirley share a 5-year-old son, and that she brought the boy along to the visit when she as arrested.

An affidavit of probable cause said Lauderdale slid a plastic bag or marijuana into a potato chip bag after she purchased the chips from a vending machine in the visiting area and emptied the chip bag. Then, court records said, she tried to give the bag to Shirley.

Lauderdale was arrested after DOC officers seized the chip bag. She posted 10 percent of a $10,000 bond on Jan. 7. Lauderdale will receive credit for one day spent in jail.

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