Former C.O. gets 6-24 months for drug smuggling
Tried to bring cocaine, suboxone into county jail
A former corrections officer who previously pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle drugs into the county jail in Concord has been sentenced to six to 24 months in a state prison.
Chloe Alexandria Vadel, 24, of the 600 block of West Park Lane in Philadelphia, will also have to provide a DNA sample to state police and pay $365 in lab fees as part of the sentence handed down by Common Pleas Court Judge George Pagano.
Vadel was arrested Oct. 16 after Correctional Officer Sergeant Saleem Jones received information that she was going to be bringing a large quantity of narcotics into the facility later that day, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Jones met with Detective Steven
Bannar of the county Criminal Investigative Division that same day. Upon Vadel’s arrival for duty, she was removed from her post and questioned by sergeants. She said she did not have anything on her, but acknowledged that she had a “package” that included suboxone in her vehicle, the affidavit says.
Vadel consented to a search of the vehicle with the sergeants, the facility’s K-9 unit and a union representative, according to the affidavit. The officers recovered a rubber glove containing 39 suboxone doses from the car, along with nine balloons of tobacco, 41 index-sized cards soaked in a liquid substance that tested positive for cocaine and a small piece of cellophane containing less than a half gram of methamphetamine, according to Assistant District Attorney Michael Flowers.
Vadel, represented by attorney Robert E. H. Miller, entered an open guilty in March to a single felony charge of contraband. Flowers sought a sentence of one to five years, arguing Vadel attempted to bring in a significant amount of drugs and even admitted to successfully moving drugs into the jail on a prior occasion.
Flowers called retired Upper Darby Detective Captain George Rhoades, now an internal affairs investigator at the jail, to testify on the issues smuggled drugs can lead to in a prison setting.
Rhoades said drugs are a significant problem in terms of officer and inmate safety. Many inmates are opiate addicted and those with mental health issues are particularly vulnerable, he said. Rhoades said he has seen anywhere from two overdoses in a week to four in a day, which also puts a strain on medical staff and corrections officers.
Miller called several friends and family members who testified that Vadel has a reputation for being truthful, shy and sweet. He asked that Vadel be given the statutory maximum 10 years of probation so that she can continue working and pay off her student loans.
Vadel also testified that she has several medical conditions, and that she came clean about the smuggling operation when she was caught because she realized she had made a mistake.
“I truly am very remorseful for the mistakes that I have made and I want to apologize to the Delaware County correctional facility and also to the penal court system,” she said.
Vadel is scheduled to report to the county jail June 6 to begin her sentence. She was given two days of credit time and is eligible for early release.
Another jail employee was also arrested last year under similar circumstances. Shahonda Groves, 49, of Magnolia, N.J., allegedly tried to smuggle ten packages of buprenorphine and naloxone film into the prison in August. She is scheduled for trial June 27 before Court of Common Pleas Judge Dominic F. Pileggi.