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Cuyahoga County Jail Corruption Cases Result in Prison Sentences

12/1/2020

(CLEVELAND, Ohio) — Two former Cuyahoga County Jail correction officers and two former inmates were sentenced today for their roles in a criminal enterprise that smuggled illegal drugs and contraband into the jail, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced today.

“Corruption demands accountability and these defendants will rightfully learn that lesson behind bars,” Yost said. “I’m proud of our team who has navigated the Cuyahoga County Jail through a pandemic and secured these sentences.”

Stephen A. Thomas, a former corrections officer, was sentenced to two years in prison. Thomas pleaded guilty to two counts of bribery (F-3), one count of theft in office (F-5) and one count of illegal conveyance of a telecommunications device into a specified governmental facility (M-1).

Marvella Sullivan, also a former corrections officer, was sentenced to 60 days in jail and one and a half years of community control. Sullivan pleaded guilty to attempted bribery (F-4) and drug trafficking (marijuana) (F-5).

Lamar Speights, a former inmate at the jail, was sentenced to thirty months in prison after pleading guilty to bribery (F-3), money laundering (F-3), and illegal conveyance of a drug of abuse onto a detention facility (F-3). That sentence will be served concurrently with a separate sentence: Speights is currently serving sixteen years in prison for another crime.  

Alexander Foster, another former jail inmate, was sentenced to eighteen months of community control with a suspended sentence of 36 months. Foster pleaded guilty to bribery (F-3) and obstructing justice (F-5).  

The Special Prosecutions Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the cases.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Stteve Irwin: 614-728-5417

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