Story Published:
May 5, 2007 at 12:31 PM PST
Story Updated:
May 5, 2007 at 12:31 PM PST
McMINNVILLE, Ore. (AP) - Four people, two already behind bars, were accused of trying to smuggle chewing tobacco into the county jail by hiding it in a prosthetic leg.
Yamhill County Sheriff Jack Crabtree said deputies this week learned of a plot in which an inmate faked a fall and damage to the leg, and a former inmate picked it up for repair.
When the leg came back, deputies said, they found about two cans worth of chewing tobacco sealed in foil and hidden in a hollow section.
The leg has been held as evidence, so one of those accused, Chad Scott, 34, of Newberg, is using crutches to get around, said Capt. Ron Huber.
Also charged were Casey Carnahan, 24, along with former inmates Noah Nicholson, 33, and Samantha McMillan, 20, all of McMinnville. The charge was a felony, supplying contraband.
Tobacco was banished from the jail in 1991, Huber said, so contraband supplies are valuable, $100 for a pack of cigarettes and $50 a can for chewing tobacco.
He said inmates prefer small portions of the chewing tobacco because smoking is so obvious