Second suspect in Lucas County jail smuggling case enters guilty plea

5/23/2007

A second man charged in a plan to smuggle cigarettes and marijuana into the Lucas County jail pleaded guilty yesterday for his involvement.

Trivelle Hartfield, 22, of 287 Mont Royal Drive, was convicted in Lucas County Common Pleas Court on one count of illegal conveyance of drugs into a detention facility and faces up to 18 months in prison.

A second charge of possessing criminal tools was dismissed.

Hartfield admitted to Judge Ruth Ann Franks that he entered a cell Feb. 25 where fellow inmates had broken a window and used sheets tied together to smuggle in contraband. He said he took a pack of cigarettes and some marijuana, which was found on him when corrections officers came across the situation and searched the men.

Hartfield is serving 11 months for a felony drug conviction.

Earlier this month, another man charged in the incident, Frank Maples, 19, of Toledo, entered an Alford plea to one count of conveying illegal drugs into a detention facility. A second charge of possessing criminal tools was dropped.

In an Alford plea, the defendant maintains his innocence or does not admit to committing a crime, but still pleads guilty because he decides it's in his best interest.

The court treats it the same as any guilty plea.