ANDERSON — A former Pendleton prison guard will be sentenced Monday after he pleaded guilty in March to bribery and conspiracy to traffic contraband into the facility.
Lee W. Oshier, 29, Chesterfield, was one of four people prosecutors charged with bringing cell phones and tobacco into the Pendleton Correctional Facility.
Oshier pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy to commit trafficking on March 23. The bribery charge is punishable by two to eight years in prison. The trafficking count carries a sentence of six months to three years.
Also charged in connection with the ring:
u Former guard Brian C. DeWeese, 36, Anderson. He is charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit trafficking. His trial is scheduled for June 16.
u Prison inmate David W. Wagner, 50. Wagner was sentenced in Grant County in 1981 on charges of murder, burglary and robbery. He is projected to be released in September 2061 — when he’ll be 102. He is charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit trafficking.
u Wagner’s uncle, Thomas D. Oliver, 68, Muncie. He is charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and trafficking. He is scheduled to appear in court April 27 for a hearing.
According to court documents, Oshier brought a large lunch cooler containing 20 cell phones, 21 charges and 14 ounces of tobacco in the prison in March 2008. Shift Capt. Robert Beaudry became suspicious and ordered Oshier to open the cooler. Oshier refused and the two men struggled over the container. Before the cooler was opened, Oshier said he quit and walked out of the prison. Beaudry then discovered the contraband, worth an estimated $10,000, inside the prison.
During police questioning, Oshier admitted to smuggling contraband into the prison eight or nine times over the previous year. He said he was paid $500 each time, and had been recruited by DeWeese and Wagner. Oshier said he received the bribe and contraband from Oliver.
Oliver told investigators that Oshier had been recruited because DeWeese had become too greedy, according to court documents, asking for as much as $1,400 per delivery instead of the standard $500.
Published telephone listings for Oliver and Oshier could not be located. A phone listed in DeWeese’s name rang unanswered Saturday. Oshier’s public defender, Dave Alger, could not be reached. Deputy Prosecutor Steve Koester declined to comment on Oshier’s sentencing.
Contact Shawn McGrath: 640-4883, shawn.mcgrath @heraldbulletin.com
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