Lawyer Is Accused of Smuggling Pot into County Jail; Informant Says Fee Was $500
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A Pennsylvania lawyer is accused of trying to smuggle marijuana into the Allegheny County jail through a meeting with an inmate.
Michael Yagercik, 32, of Ambridge was charged after police found the pot on an inmate who visited with the lawyer on May 15, report the Pittsburgh Tribune and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The drug was in a sealed envelope along with loose tobacco and rolling papers, according to the criminal complaint. The inmate was allegedly acting as a courier for his cellmate, convicted drug dealer Richard Jasek, the Post-Gazette says.
Police acted based on a tip from an informant who said Yagercik earned $500 to smuggle contraband into the county jail and $1,000 to smuggle it to Jasek when he was in federal prison. Lawyers are required to go through metal detectors and open their briefcases before entering the jail, but corrections officers don’t search legal papers, the jail’s acting warden told the Post-Gazette.
Yagercik worked for the Beaver County Public Defender’s office until he was fired in November, the Pittsburgh Tribune says.
