PARIS – A hollowed-out chicken bone allegedly used by an Oxford County Jail inmate as a pot pipe led to four charges being levied against the man.

Troy L. Hosie pleaded not guilty Monday at Oxford County’s 11th District Court to charges of trafficking in prison contraband, possession of marijuana, sale and use of drug paraphernalia and refusing to sign a summons. He also denied guilt to two other unrelated charges.

Jail Administrator Ernest F. Martin said officers found the hollowed-out chicken bone in jail trash in September. The bone had marijuana residue on it, he added.

“It was hollowed out and fashioned into some sort of pipe,” Martin said. “I guess we could start buying boneless chicken, but that’s expensive.”

Martin said contraband is a problem at the local jail as it is with prisons elsewhere.

“It’s a cat and mouse game everywhere you go, every jail, every prison,” he said.

“Some of these people in here are very crafty,” Martin said. “There’s a constant concern about family members and visitors bringing stuff in. People have been known to put a substance in a balloon, swallow it retrieve it when it processes out.”

Banned items and materials also have been passed to inmates via a visitor’s kiss.

Others will slip contraband under the inner soles of their shoes, stuff it in the waistband of their pants or use body cavities.

“Wherever they can hide it,” Martin said.

“The guard has to keep a watchful eye because there’s a lot of activity that goes on underneath the table during a visit,” Martin said.

“Inmates are very resourceful and opportunistic,” he said.

He said marijuana used to be the favorite item of smugglers and inmates. Since the jail went smoke free in 1992, tobacco is the top smuggled substance. Inmates use the thin pages of Bibles as rolling paper for the tobacco.

Getting caught with tobacco is not against the law, but it is against jail rules and brings disciplinary action, such as loss of privileges.

“If you are caught with any amount of an illegal substance you can be charged with trafficking in prison contraband, a Class C felony,” Martin said. “I’ve seen people do nine months for that. I’ve seen a lot of those charges stick.”

Martin said people can only bring in factory-sealed radios or popular Walkmans. They also must sign a property conveyance form. He said if drugs are found inside an object, anyone signing a conveyance form can also be charged. If tobacco is found that person can be banned from visiting.

“If people don’t want to sign the form they can take the item back out,” Martin said.

Visitors can also be patted down, but not strip searched.

“That’s a little too controversial,” Martin said.

The charges against Hosie came after guards smelled a strong odor of liquid cleaner. They suspected the odor might be masking something else, Martin said, so they staged a shakedown that led to the chicken bone.

Shakedowns are when prisoners are moved from the cell block to the multipurpose room while guards checked their cells. Jail policy requires such cell searches weekly anyway, according to Martin.

Copy the Story Link