A former corrections officer at Northpoint Training Center pleaded guilty Thursday in Boyle Circuit Court to attempting to bring illegal pills into the prison.
Jesus Cabrera, 38, of Danville entered a guilty plea to first-degree promoting contraband in exchange for a recommended jail sentence of one year. Judge Darren Peckler will formally sentence Cabrera on Dec. 8. Cabrera remains free on bond until then.
Cabrera was arrested in July 2010 after he was caught with 12 blue pills, believed to be Valium, loose in his pocket while working at the prison.
Cabrera was one of the guards who provided testimony that was used to indict inmates in connection with the fiery August 2009 riot at Northpoint that destroyed several buildings on the prison campus on Ky. 33.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Richie Bottoms said Thursday that Cabrera’s guilty plea will have no bearing on any of the pending riot-related cases.
“I have no plans to use him. We have no cases under indictment that depend only on his testimony,” Bottoms said, adding that other guards can provide similar eyewitness accounts to what happened during the riots.
While Cabrera will not be called by prosecutors, he is a potential defense witness for Bobby Hoskins Jr., who is charged with arson and rioting. Hoskins was scheduled to be the first Northpoint inmate to face trial on a riot-related charge last month, but the case was delayed in main part because Cabrera’s criminal charges were unresolved, Bottoms said.
If Cabrera was called as a witness at Hoskins’ trial, there was concern things he said from the stand might be used against him in the contraband case, so he might not be forthcoming in his testimony, Bottoms said.
“It complicated things,” the prosecutor said.
Hoskins’ trial has not yet been rescheduled. Newell Stacy, also charged with arson and rioting, is now set to be the first inmate to face trial on Nov. 28.
