WICHITA, KAN.– A Kansas inmate was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for his part in conspiring to smuggle methamphetamine into a state prison.
According to court documents, Tommie Baggett, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
In February 2024, while an inmate at Hutchinson Correctional Facility, Baggett took part in a conspiracy to throw a package of methamphetamine over the prison wall. He worked with another inmate to flag a location in the yard to show co-defendant, Jermel Fleming, 33, of Lawrence where to make the drop. While Fleming was outside the prison, Baggett gave him instructions over the phone. Baggett used a prison phone system which recorded the call. Fleming threw the package over the prison wall but at the wrong location, and corrections staff intercepted it. Laboratory results showed the package to contain 247.94 grams of pure methamphetamine.
“Being in prison wasn’t enough to stop Mr. Baggett from committing further crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “The drugs Mr. Baggett wanted tossed into the prison yard didn’t land where he expected. However, his actions will land him in federal prison when he’s done with his state prison sentence.”
Fleming was sentenced to 96 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of distribution of a controlled substance.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katie Andrusak prosecuted the case.
