Buffalo Woman Charged With Providing Marijuana To Federal Prisoner
ERIE, Pa. - Acting United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar announced today, May 11, 2010, that Laquita Stephens, a resident of Buffalo, New York, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on a charge of providing contraband in prison.
The one-count indictment named Stephens, age 22, as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment presented to the court, on or about November 23, 2009, Stephens provided a quantity of marijuana to an inmate at the McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian A. Trabold, who presented the case to the grand jury, indicated that the law provides for a maximum total sentence of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Officers of the McKean Federal Correctional Institution conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
