HANCOCK COUNTY — Deputy prosecutor Kevin Kelly doesn’t often smile after working out a plea agreement with a defendant.
But after a sentencing hearing Tuesday, June 16, in Hancock County Superior Court 1 for a woman accused of trying to help inmates smuggle drugs into the jail, Kelly said things ended up working out for the best.
Breann Perkins, 23, New Palestine, pleaded guilty to a Level 6 felony count of attempting to deal a Schedule III controlled substance. Five other charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Kelly said many of the charges that were dropped would have been merged had a plea agreement not been reached. Plus, the state will benefit from the work Perkins will do for the state to help prosecute upcoming cases.
“She’d never been arrested before in her life and she did something stupid, but she’s cooperated with law enforcement since before charges were filed,” Kelly said, after the deal had been accepted by court commissioner Cody Coombs.
Part of the agreement calls for a two-year prison term to be suspended. But that’s only if Perkins continues to cooperate with authorities, who are going after two inmates who were involved in the smuggling operation.
“If not for Perkins, we wouldn’t be able to charge them,” Kelly said. “They were the ones who were providing her the information and a prescription, telling her what to do and how to do it.”
In addition to the prison term hanging over her head, Perkins will also face an additional two years on probation. If she continues to cooperate upon successfully completing probation and the terms of the plea agreement, Perkins will receive alternative misdemeanor sentencing. Should she not follow through on the plea agreement, which calls for her to testify against the inmates, Kelly will file a probation violation charge and she likely will have to serve four years in prison.
“She said she’s willing to help and has already given a statement,” Kelly said.
According to a probable cause affidavit, in October 2019, an inmate was sent a letter containing photos laced with drugs slipped between layers of the photo paper. When a jail officer opened the letter and removed pictures from an envelop, small particles fell from the pictures.
The jailer suspected the substance was pulverized Suboxone pills. Suboxone is prescription medication that combines Buprenorphine and Naloxone, and it is used to treat opioid addiction. It can also be abused if used incorrectly.
Another mailing sent to another prisoner also contained photos that had been similarly altered to smuggle drugs.
According to the affidavit, another inmate asked Perkins if she would pick up a prescription at a pharmacy. He told her the prescription would be medication strips, later found to be Suboxone strips placed between layers of the photo paper. The inmate asked Perkins to find some pictures and separate the photo from the backing, place the strips inside the picture, and re-seal the photo using glue, the affidavit said.
In the phone calls, jail officials could hear two male voices giving Perkins instructions on how to package the narcotics in a photo print.
Perkins told investigators she sent packages containing narcotics to several inmates. Perkins also had picked up two prescriptions for an inmate from a pharmacy and followed instructions on how to get the drugs into the jail, the affidavit said.
