Indianapolis woman charged with trafficking with inmate

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

GREENCASTLE -- An Indianapolis woman remained lodged at the Putnam County Jail Wednesday after being charged in Putnam County Superior Court of Class C felony trafficking with an inmate and Class A misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

Joni M. Wood, 20, was arrested at the Putnamville Correctional Facility on Sept. 17.

"Wood arrived at the facility and attempted to gain entrance to visit with an offender," Putnamville Public Information Officer Alisia Lawrence said. "While pat searching Wood, prior to entering the facility, Officer J. Arthur discovered two hidden balloons containing what appeared to be a controlled substance."

Internal Affairs was notified, Lawrence said, and the substance in the balloons was determined to be marijuana.

Wood was at the prison to visit James Smith, 29, of Indianapolis, who is serving a sentence on a Class B felony carjacking conviction and has a projected release date of Jan. 29, 2015.

"Pending the outcome of an investigation, Smith may also be facing criminal charges," Lawrence said.

Wood has entered preliminary pleas of not guilty to both charges. Public defender Trudy Selvia has been appointed to represent her.

Judge Pro Tem Scott Hoff set Wood's bond at $10,000 cash only and slated a pretrial conference in the case for Nov. 2.

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