By: Elle O.
(July 21, 2017)
James Brown, 46, of Queens, plead guilty to the charge of 3rd-Degree Bribe Receiving earlier this year on June 1. He was sentenced on July 14, 2017, by Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas to a year of prison for the charge.
The incident for which he was charged occurred on December 9, 2016, when a drug sniffing dog detected a suspicious substance in Brown’s bag. Brown worked as a Correction Officer in the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island. This was part of a routine inspection on their COs. In Brown’s duffle bag, officials found a bottle containing tequila, four ounces of weed, tobacco, and a cellphone.
He had received $700 in cash from an inmate’s wife to bring the contraband into the facility. Dene Morris and her husband Shane Morris have a separate case pending for the charges.
“We will not tolerate anyone bringing in contraband because the high profits it generates fuels violence in jail,” stated Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark. The Department of Investigation has been working hard to crack down on individuals that commit rouge acts that compromise the integrity of their position as well as the safety of the inmates in their care.
Tags: Rikers Island,
Photo: Courtesy of Department of Investigation
