WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A Larned Correctional Facility employee who pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine and tobacco into the facility received probation on Thursday.

A news release from the Pawnee County Attorney says Jessie Smith, 52, was arrested on Aug. 13, 2023, after a random search of employees found he had 63 grams of meth and 252 grams of tobacco.

Smith was arrested without incident following an internal investigation and has been on supervised release since Aug. 17, 2023.

The county attorney said in a news release during his sentencing hearing that Smith requested probation and apologized for his mistake.

Smith argued it had already cost him a nearly 30-year career in the security field, that he was pressured by people outside the facility to bring the contraband in and that he didn’t pose a threat to the public.

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The news release said Smith also noted ongoing health concerns.

Prosecutors argued that the court should deny the probation request because Smith violated the position of trust he had been placed in and that his actions put staff and inmates at risk.

Larned State Correctional Facility Warden Timothy Easley testified at the sentencing hearing that the facility only experienced four inmates under the influence of intoxicants in the three months following Smith’s arrest, as compared to nearly 90 incidents in the preceding three-month period.

Easley also testified the lack of intoxicant-related incidents correlated to significantly fewer acts of violence within the facility.

Following the testimonies, the judge sentenced Smith to 36 months probation with an underlying sentence of 32 months in prison. This means if Smith violates his parole, he would be subject to the prison sentence.

The news release says the judge noted the defendant’s behavior while on bond and that the risk assessment tools utilized in the presentence investigation reflected that Smith did not pose a community safety risk.

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