Pubdate: Wed, 20 May 2009
Source: Sampson Independent, The (NC)
Copyright: 2009, The Sampson Independent
Contact:  http://www.clintonnc.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1704
Author: Chris Berendt
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)

DUPLIN JAILER PLEADS, IS SENTENCED

A former jailer for the Duplin County Sheriff's Office has been
sentenced to two and a half years probation, fined and ordered to
serve community service for attempting to provide an inmate at the
Duplin jail with drugs.

Kenneth Wayne Kentrolis, 22, of 290 Halls Pond Road, Rose Hill,
pleaded guilty to felonious attempt to provide a controlled substance
to an inmate after being taken into custody in January as a result of
an undercover operation.

Following the plea, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge W. Allen Cobb
Jr. sentenced Kentrolis to a term of six to eight months in prison,
however that sentence was suspended by the court. Kentrolis was placed
under 30 months of supervised probation and ordered to pay a $600
fine, court costs and attorney's fees and complete 50 hours of
community service.

As special conditions of the probation, Kentrolis must also submit to
random warrantless searches by law enforcement officers and random
drug screenings. If the defendant violates any conditions of the
probation, he can be brought back to court to have the suspended
prison sentence activated.

The guilty plea stemmed from an undercover investigation launched
following a tip to law enforcement.

According to reports, on Jan. 28, 2009, Duplin County sheriff's
deputies received information from a "confidential source" that
Kentrolis, who was employed as a jailer for the Duplin County
Sheriff's Office at the time, was providing controlled substances to
inmates.

The deputies informed Sheriff Blake Wallace of the report and he
subsequently notified the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation and
District Attorney's Office.

According to information from the District Attorney's Office, SBI
investigators consulted with the D.A., and an undercover investigation
was launched to see whether Kentrolis was providing controlled
substances to inmates.

During the course of the investigation, the defendant agreed to meet
with an undercover officer outside the Duplin County jail to pick up
an envelope for an inmate, investigators said. After the defendant
picked up an envelope containing counterfeit marijuana, he went back
inside the jail, where he was taken to custody.

When Kentrolis was questioned, he indicated he had delivered envelopes
from a co-worker at another job to an inmate a few months earlier. The
defendant was later informed by the inmate that the envelope contained
tobacco, a violation of Duplin County jail policy, according to reports.

Kentrolis told authorities that inmate and other inmates threatened to
blackmail him unless he continued to bring envelopes to them,
prosecutors said. Although the initial envelopes contained tobacco,
Kentrolis said he knew the later ones contained marijuana. Following
his arrest that night, the jailer said he believed the envelope he had
accepted from the undercover officer contained marijuana.

According to authorities, Kentrolis was "cooperative" after being
arrested and there is no evidence he ever received any money or
anything else of value in exchange for taking the controlled
substances into the jail.

Providing a controlled substance to an inmate is a Class H felony, and
attempting to do so is a Class I felony. District Attorney Dewey
Hudson stated that, because the defendant had no prior criminal
history, the presiding judge was required to give him a probationary
sentence under state-mandated sentencing guidelines.

"Although this is unfortunate that this incident happened in our
county jail, Sheriff Wallace immediately took steps to notify the SBI
and my office and ensured that the situation was quickly
investigated," stated Hudson.

"This kind of action cannot be tolerated and I applaud the efforts of
the Duplin County Sheriff's Office and the SBI to quickly and
effectively investigate this case and stop this conduct."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake