Silverdale Detention Facility jailer fired after being charged with trying to smuggle marijuana to inmate

photo Jesse Wedell, 20. She is accused of attempting to smuggle marijuana to an inmate last week while she was a guard at Silverdale.

A corrections officer with the Silverdale Detention Facility has been fired after being charged with trying to smuggle marijuana to an inmate.

Jesse Wedell, 20, admitted Thursday to hiding a packet containing 20 grams of marijuana in her vagina, according to an affidavit. Investigators escorted her to a shower area of the jail, where she retrieved the bag containing the drug, according to the affidavit.

She has been charged with smuggling contraband into a penal institute and felony possession of marijuana. Her next court date is Oct. 17 before Hamilton County General Sessions Judge Clarence Shattuck.

She was fired Monday. Attempts to reach Wedell by phone Tuesday were unsuccessful.

On her Facebook page she wrote Sunday: "Seeing my baby girl's smile in the morning makes my heart hurt knowing that I may have to do hard time and miss all the important moments in her life. ... I messed up and I hope God can forgive me."

Wedell told investigators that a woman who had a relationship with an inmate named Ellis Roberson paid her $25 to deliver the marijuana and tobacco to another inmate, Demetrius Byrd.

Byrd, 25, is in custody on charges of possession of cocaine and marijuana for resale. Roberson, 30, is serving a sentence for possession of crack cocaine for resale.

Investigators with the jail would not share any details about how they became aware of the smuggling, but they said Wedell admitted to it after they began questioning her.

Silverdale, owned by Corrections Corporation of America, has a "zero-tolerance policy" regarding contraband in the facility, said a company statement issued Tuesday.

"This was an isolated incident, and CCA is very proud of its alert staff that stopped the contraband from entering the facility," the statement said.

Wedell's employment with Silverdale began on July 5, following the completion of 200 hours of paid training prior to assuming duties as a correctional officer, according to CCA.

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