NJ jail officer admits taking bribes for years to smuggle drugs, tobacco, contraband

⚖️ Mercer County corrections officer admitted taking bribes since 2017

💵 Paid up to $2,500 to smuggle drugs and tobacco to inmates

⚖️ Plea deal includes jail time, probation, and lifetime public job ban

TRENTON — A Mercer County correctional officer is permanently out of a job after admitting to a years-long scam of taking bribes for smuggling contraband for inmates.

Tyree L. Hobbs pleaded guilty to third-degree conspiracy to commit bribery during a May first hearing in Mercer County Superior Court.

Investigators said the 42-year-old Hamilton Township resident began accepting the bribes in late 2017, roughly 10 months after he joined the Mercer County Department of Corrections.

How the inmate contraband scheme worked

Hobbs functioned as a courier, taking sealed packages from outside the jail, often containing drugs and tobacco.

He would hide the contraband in spots where Mercer County Correction Center inmates could receive their “deliveries.”

Hobbs would be paid anywhere from $300 to $2,500 each time, either in cash or via mobile money-transfer apps.

Read More: NJ jail guard gets prison for smuggling drugs and phones

Arrest, charges, and plea deal details

He was suspended without pay in July 2022 and was indicted by a state grand jury within months on four criminal counts, including official misconduct charges.

As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of probation, with the condition that Hobbs serve 364 days in county jail.

He will also be required to forfeit all public employment and will be forever disqualified from holding any public office or government position, at any level.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 17.

Officials stress betrayal of public trust

“Corrections officers have challenging jobs that are integral to public safety, and the vast majority of them fulfill their roles with integrity,” state Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a written statement on Tuesday.

“But in this case, the defendant admitted to exploiting his access to a correctional facility for personal gain. Any public employee that betrays the public trust in this way should not be working in government, and this resolution ensures that.”

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