A Jefferson City man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for bringing illegal drugs into the Cole County Jail that caused a cellmate to have an overdose reaction.
Jesse Brewer, 35, pleaded guilty during a hearing before Cole County Judge Dan Green to delivery of a controlled substance and delivering or concealing prohibited articles in a jail facility.
The incident occurred Dec. 15, when Brewer was arrested for possession of a controlled substance by the Jefferson City Police Department, along with Franklin County warrants for his arrest, according to a Cole County Sheriff's Department probable cause statement.
Later that day, Brewer's cellmate had a medical emergency. Emergency medical services personnel believed it was an overdose due to the reaction he had to Narcan, given to counteract the effects of a possible overdose.
The inmate was taken to a local hospital, and jail staff reviewed surveillance video in the cell to determine what might have caused the medical emergency.
On the video, Brewer is seen throwing something at his fellow inmate a few minutes before the inmate was in medical distress.
While the inmate was on the floor of the cell, Brewer appeared to remove something from his sock then walk to the cell toilet and sit down, according to investigators. They said it appeared Brewer was attempting to hide a bag of narcotics.
After getting a search warrant, Brewer was taken to a local hospital to have his person searched. However, before the search could take place, Brewer said he would remove the item he had hid. It was a cellphone bag that had capsules Brewer told authorities contained methamphetamine and heroin.
Authorities said there were 29 capsules and two small bags of methamphetamine in the bag.