A Decatur County prisoner was charged with Possession of Meth With Intent to Distribute Wednesday after local law enforcement found he was hiding around six grams of the drug on his body.
James Jason Wojciechowski, 44, was searched for drugs after his work detail officer, Lt. George McMillan, received information that he might be in possession of contraband.
The Decatur County Correctional Institute tipped the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office that a prisoner was possibly dealing drugs. Once he was taken into custody and searched with the help of Decatur County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Brian Donalson, the meth was found.
“He was going to distribute it to another inmate,” Donalson said.
Ultimately, the drugs are intended to get to the dealer inside the prison, but they will often go through two or three different hands before it gets there, Donalson said.
“Meth is pretty common in prisons now,” Decatur County Prison Warden Elijah McCoy said. “Meth is cheaper to make and that’s a lot of problems inside many state facilities.”
McCoy noted that there were three incidents in November where two prisoners were sent to the emergency room for meth use. Prisoners on work detail are typically the ones who receive the meth on the outside to bring into the prison.
“If you see these inmates near vehicles or talking to people they shouldn’t be talking to, contact law enforcement,” McCoy said. “We are not going to tolerate it.”
Donalson said Wojciechowski would make the May term Grand Jury and most likely be set for an August trial date.
“I want to promote DCCI and their cooperation with the Sheriff’s Office,” Donalson said. “They are on top of their game. They made the case, they just turned in over to us for investigation.”