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Last updated on Wednesday, May 24, 2017
(WABASH VALLEY) - Officials at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility apprehended a minimum security inmate Monday when he picked up a bag in a ditch containing 16 ounce packages of tobacco.
39-year-old Jonathan Opel is a minimum-security grounds crew worker.
Authorities had been watching the bag since it was found earlier in the day by a correctional officer.
The case will be forwarded to the Sullivan County Prosecutor with a recommendation Opel be charged with attempting to traffick with an Inmate. He will also face disciplinary charges.
Opel told police he planned to hide the tobacco and bring it to J-Housing Unit, the minimum-security dorm, in small quantities.
WVCF investigators continue their hunt for the source of the tobacco.
Opel had been set for a December, 2019 release after serving 19 years on Dubois County possession of meth, obstruction of justice and maintaining a common nuisance convictions.
Opel, has been placed in a restricted-status housing unit pending transfer to another facility.
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