Officer Guilty Who Plotted to Smuggle Contraband Into Jail

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The last of four corrupt Anne Arundel County detention center officers charged with bribery for smuggling cell phones and other contraband into jail inmates has pleaded guilty.

The final former officer facing charges, James William Newsome Jr., 25, of Mechanicsville, pleaded guilty Tuesday to bribery of a public employee and delivering contraband to a person in a place of confinement.

Assistant State’s Attorney Virginia Miles told the Capital-Gazette she will seek a three-year prison term for Newsome, with all but nine months suspended. Newsome is set to be sentenced on Jan. 25.

He was initially charged with 14 criminal counts ranging from bribery of a public employee to possession of contraband with intent to deliver.

None of the four officers remain employed by the county; at the time of their arrests they worked at the Jennifer Road center in Annapolis. A grand jury in April handed down a 61-count indictment against the four suspects on charges ranging from attempted bribery of a public employee to misconduct in office.

The illegal contraband brought into the jail included loose tobacco, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, fast food, lighters, matches, an electronic cigarette and a cell phone and accessories.

Investigators said the officers hid the items on themselves, then left them at drop sites the inmates had access to in the center.

State’s Attorney Wes Adams previously said that while smuggling tobacco, fast food items and cell phones may seem minor, “cell phones in our jail present a true threat to the administration of justice in our county.”

The three officers already sentenced are:

Kenyatta Ornell Trotter, 42, of Baltimore, was originally indicted in April on two counts of attempted bribery/public employee and four counts of misconduct in office. He pleaded guilty in October to the bribery charge.

Trotter was sentenced in November to 12 years behind bars, with all but three months suspended, on a charge of attempted bribery of a public employee. He will be on probation for three years after his jail sentence.

According to his plea agreement, Trotter and an inmate often discussed an agreement for the jail worker to smuggle drugs, alcohol and tobacco into the jail in exchange for money. The inmate was working with corrections officials investigating corruption at the facility.

Catherine Mae Windsor, 27, of Lothian, was arrested on 29 counts for smuggling cigarettes, loose tobacco, lighters, electronic cigarettes and a cellphone into the jail for the inmate. She pleaded guilty to bribery of a public employee, misconduct in office and delivery of a telecommunications device to a person in a place of confinement.

In September, Windsor was sentenced to five years in prison, with all but one year suspended. She is serving the first 90 days in a jail outside Anne Arundel County and the rest of the time she will be on house arrest. She must also repay the county $570 and serve three years probation.

Grayling Sylvester Jackson, 59, of Severn, was arrested on 10 counts tied to twice smuggling cigarettes, matches and chewing tobacco into the jail. In September he was sentenced to three years in jail, with all but six months suspended. He served the first 30 days of his sentence in jail, and will be under house arrest for the rest of his sentence, court officials said.