Local jail deputy arrested over contraband was loaning e-cigarette to inmate: affidavit
A teenage detention deputy arrested last fall for allegedly taking contraband into the Sedgwick County Jail got into trouble for bringing in an e-cigarette that he loaned to an inmate, a newly released court document says.
When Braydon Hoover-Lane was taken into custody on Nov. 20 for allegedly trafficking contraband items into the adult detention facility, he had the smoking device on him, as well as a pocket knife described as a “multi-tool with a fixed blade,” according to an affidavit released Thursday by a Sedgwick County judge in response to an Eagle request.
Hoover-Lane, who was 19 at the time of his arrest, is facing two counts alleging he brought the banned items into the jail “without the consent of the administrator” on or about Nov. 7, 2020, the complaint filed in the case says. Both charges are felonies.
His defense lawyer, Shawn Elliott, declined to comment on the allegations.
According to the affidavit, Hoover-Lane told a detective investigating a tip about contraband that he let an inmate borrow his electronic cigarette several times over a five-month period, including on Nov. 7, when he loaned it at least twice. The inmate was in jail for heroin possession at the time and is now in prison serving a 10-year sentence, records show.
Although neither of the items are illegal outside of jail walls, they are banned in the building.
Hoover-Lane told the investigator he knew the pocket knife was prohibited, but it’s unclear from the affidavit whether he realized he couldn’t have the electronic cigarette.
When the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office announced Hoover-Lane’s Nov. 20 arrest, it said Hoover-Lane had been placed on unpaid suspension. Agency spokesman Lt. Benjamin Blick said Thursday that Hoover-Lane resigned from his post on Jan. 7.
Prosecutors in April charged Hoover-Lane with two counts of trafficking contraband into a correctional facility. His next court date, a preliminary hearing, is scheduled for July 1.
The case is one of several involving illegal contraband flowing in the jail that has been reported by Sheriff’s officials in recent months.
This story was originally published June 25, 2021 at 1:06 PM.
