Former Maury County Correction Officer Derek Wayne Turner, 38, of Mt. Pleasant, Tenn., pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to charges of conspiring to introduce contraband and controlled substances into a jail, in exchange for cash payments, announced David Rivera, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Turner was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 25, 2012, along with Maury County Jail inmates Benjamin R. Bradley, 35, and James E. Pierce, 40, Bradley’s mother, Linda Chapman, 52, of Columbia, Tenn. and Melinda A. Buie, 41, of Mt. Pleasant, Tenn. and charged with conspiracy to introduce contraband and controlled substances, including tobacco and scheduled drugs, into a jail, between February - June 2011.
Turner’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 25, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger. Linda Chapman pleaded guilty on April 25, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 18, 2013. Both face a maximum penalty of 66 months in prison and a $255,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the FBI, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Maury County Sheriff’s Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Darryl A. Stewart.
The charges against Bradley, Buie and Pierce are still pending. An indictment is merely a charge and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
