Drug smuggling charges against Butler County Jail intern dropped

Felony charges against a teenager accused of smuggling contraband into an Ohio jail while working there as an intern have been dropped.

The teenager, whose internship at Butler County Jail was cut short in March, is still charged with obstructing official business and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors.

She was previously charged with two felonies for allegedly bringing marijuana, ecstasy and a cell phone into the jail.

The teen interned at the jail this year through the Butler Tech Criminal Justice Program. She was 17 years old when she was charged and turned 18 in June. The Enquirer is not naming her because she is being tried in juvenile court.

Judge Daniel J. Phillips granted Butler County prosecutor Michael Gmoser's request to dismiss the teen's two felony charges. Gmoser would not say why he asked for the charges to be dropped.

According to an incident report from the sheriff's office, the student confessed to deputies to bringing the drugs and cell phone into the jail and to having a relationship that violated jail policies with two inmates, Willie Attaway, 32, and Larkin McGowan, 33. She also admitted to having a sexual relationship with one of the inmates.

Butler County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer said an unnamed "informant" told deputies a "CO (correctional officer) had been compromised." They learned Attaway and McGowan were involved and, because of estimated time frames, believed the teenager was the "compromised" staffer.

But the teen's lawyer argued that no evidence of contraband was found. In a motion to suppress her statement, attorney D. Joseph Auciello, Jr. said the teen's confession was coerced and said deputies interviewed her for four-and-a-half hours without a parent or guardian present.

Dwyer would not comment on the open case, but said contraband is typically not found by deputies when smuggled into jails because it is immediately distributed or held by another inmate.

The judge previously ruled that the teen's confession could be used in court. Her trial will start in September.