Former Cuyahoga County Corrections Officers Sentenced To Prison

CLEVELAND — Four people were sentenced to prison this week for their roles in smuggling drugs into the Cuyahoga County Jail.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said two former correction officers and two former inmates were sentenced for trafficking marijuana, theft, illegally smuggling a cell phone into the facility and more.

“Corruption demands accountability and these defendants will rightfully learn that lesson behind bars,” Yost said. “I’m proud of our team who has navigated the Cuyahoga County Jail through a pandemic and secured these sentences.”

The two former corrections officers involved in the smuggling scheme were Stephen Thomas and Marvella Sullivan.

Thomas was sentenced to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty to bribery, theft in office and illegal conveyance of a telecommunications device into a governmental facility.

Sullivan was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 18 months of community control after pleading guilty to attempted bribery and drug trafficking.

The two inmates sentenced were Lamar Speights and Alexander Foster.

Speights was sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to bribery, money laundering, and illegal conveyance of a drug of abuse onto a detention facility. His sentence will be served concurrently with another sentence.

Foster was sentenced to 18 months of community control after pleading guilty to bribery and obstructing justice.

The Ohio Attorney General's office led the investigation into the drug smuggling scheme.