CLEARFIELD – On Wednesday an inmate pleaded guilty to possessing drugs at the State Correctional Institution at Houtzdale instead of taking his case to trial.
Wyndel Devero, 25, entered an open guilty plea to possession of a controlled substance contraband-inmate, a second-degree felony.
Clearfield County President Judge Fredric Ammerman accepted the plea and ordered a pre-sentencing investigation by the probation department.
The charges stem from an incident April 25, 2016 when Tarika Monay Butler Murray, 23, of Philadelphia brought drugs to Devero at the prison, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
A corrections officer observed Murray handing Devero several small balloons that he suspected contained contraband while they were in the prison’s visiting room.
When Murray was stopped in the hall, she allegedly removed a bag containing 12 balloons from her bra. She was then taken to the Clearfield-based state police barracks for an interview.
Murray admitted to putting six balloons inside a Doritos bag and handing it to Devero. She said she entered the prison with 18 small balloons that smelled like marijuana.
Devero was found to have three balloons in his hand in the visiting room, all of which contained suspected drugs. He was housed in a dry cell and a few days later, he turned over three more balloons to a CO.
The balloons were sent to the State Police Crime Laboratory in Erie for further analysis. Four balloons tested positive for marijuana and the other two for buprenorphine.
