Police: Connellsville woman sent drugs to Westmoreland County Prison inmate

A Connellsville woman accused of mailing Suboxone strips to an inmate at the Westmoreland County Prison two years ago is set for a formal arraignment in June.

Courtney Elyse Warburton, 29, waived her right to a preliminary hearing Friday on charges of conspiracy and attempted contraband.

County detectives allege Warburton in June 2017 mailed a greeting card with her return address to her boyfriend when he was incarcerated at the jail. A corrections officer examining the mail noticed strips of Suboxone attached to the card, according to a criminal complaint.

Suboxone, or buprenorphine, can be used to treat an addiction to painkillers.

Jail officials listened to phone calls between Warburton and Eddie Clarence Fairman, 33, of Latrobe, during which Fairman instructed Warburton on how to send the Suboxone strips, according to the complaint.

Investigators said Warburton’s fingerprints were found on the seized items. Fairman was sentenced to 75 days in prison and was paroled on March 27 to an out-of-state detainer, according to online court records. He pleaded guilty to criminal solicitation.

Warburton has been free on $10,000 unsecured bail since her arrest in January.

Jail officials in 2018 instituted a policy that allows inmates access only to photocopies of incoming mail, rather than passing along the original items. Officials said the change was a precaution to stop inmates from receiving mail contaminated with drugs.

An alleged Suboxone smuggling scheme was broken up last year and authorities arrested two people. A female would use a restroom while visiting the jail and tape Suboxone strips in the stalls, according to court testimony. Inmates on the maintenance crew would then retrieve the items and take them to her boyfriend, who was incarcerated.