WISE COUNTY, Va. (WJHL) – A Kentucky man pleaded guilty Tuesday to scheming to deliver illegal contraband to inmates at Red Onion State Prison in 2019.
According to a release from Wise County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chuck Slemp’s Office, Kevin McIlquham pleaded guilty to the following three charges:
- Conspiracy to Deliver Drugs to Inmates
- Delivery of Drugs to Inmates
- Bribery
McIlquham faces up to 30 years in prison, according to the release.
“McIlquaham admitted to investigators his role in distributing Tobacco, Mairjuana, Buprenorphine Naloxone (Suboxone) strips, Molly (MDMA), and Heroin in the prison for a period of two to three months in 2019,” the release reads.
The release states McIlquaham was a corrections officer at Red Onion State Prison in 2019. More than $2,000 in cash was also seized from his vehicle by investigators who report that money as “fruits of the illegal activity.”
“I cannot underscore the seriousness of these offenses. When someone smuggles drugs and tobacco into our prisons, it poses a significant threat to the safety of corrections officers, the dedicated staff who work at our state correctional facilities, and inmates in these facilities,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Chuck Slemp said. “I want to thank the thorough investigation of the Virginia Department of Corrections into this matter and the hard work of Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Berlin W. Skeen, Jr. for making these convictions possible.”
McIlquaham is scheduled to appear at a sentencing hearing on July 20 in Wise County Circuit Court.
