Judge rejects ex-guard’s plea deal

A judge rejected a plea deal that would have fined a jail guard $500 for allegedly smuggling cigarettes and marijuana into the Springfield jail.
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140611/NEWS02/706119928

A judge turned down a plea deal Tuesday for former prison guard Brett Jasinski, 46, of Chester, who faces a misdemeanor charge of transporting marijuana into a correctional facility. Photo: PHOTO BY ERIC FRANCISPublished June 11, 2014 in the Rutland Herald Judge rejects ex-guard’s plea deal By ERIC FRANCIS CORRESPONDENT WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A judge rejected a plea deal that would have fined a jail guard $500 for allegedly smuggling cigarettes and marijuana into the Springfield jail. Judge Karen Carroll said the alleged crime by former corrections officer Brett Jasinksi, 46, of Chester warranted more than a fine. “I’m not meaning to suggest that the defendant should be in prison for (the maximum) six months, but I am not going to accept this until it is an agreement that has a punitive sanction to it,” Carroll said. Jasinski faces a misdemeanor charge of transporting marijuana into a detention center last August. The maximum penalty is six months in prison, but the plea deal calls for a $500 fine and no jail time. Prosecutors say a surveillance camera in the jail caught Jasinski putting a package inside an empty bag of chips and then placing it in a trash container. An inmate was recorded retrieving it a few minutes later. Fink said Jasinski thought he was just helping to smuggle cigarettes and didn’t realize marijuana had also been placed in the parcel he brought through security. “Brett takes full responsibility for bringing cigarettes into the prison…in a plastic bag,” Fink said. “He should have known what was in the plastic bag, had he looked; he did not. He takes responsibility for bringing contraband in.” The lawyer said his client had already suffered for his offense. Jasinski was fired from the prison and had to work in maintenance at a ski resort, with his income cut in half. “Most of his friends and acquaintances have distanced themselves,” Fink said. “It’s very difficult to walk around on a day-to-day basis knowing that people are shunning you.” But the judge replied that simply fining the ex-guard would send the wrong message. “I don’t need to repeat what we’ve all been hearing lately about the problems that drugs are causing in this state out on the street,” Carroll said. “One can only hope that our correctional facilities are free from the substances that are all over the state right now.” The judge ordered both sides to renegotiate the agreement and report back to the court.