CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Mecklenburg County detention officer was charged with providing a cellphone and smuggling tobacco to an inmate at the jail, deputies said.
Goodwin Stuppard was fired Tuesday, Aug. 9, in connection with his arrest. Stuppard had been with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office since December of 2015.
Deputies began investigating Stuppard's behavior after receiving a tip that he was smuggling illegal items into the jail. During the investigation, Stuppard admitted to giving tobacco to inmates and to charging a cellphone and giving it back to a resident at the jail, according to the sheriff's office.
Stuppard is facing a Class 1 misdemeanor for furnishing tobacco to an inmate. Providing a cellphone to a jail inmate is a Class H felony. He is the second person charged with giving a Mecklenburg County inmate a cellphone this week. A health care worker was charged on Monday.
"We take all allegations of employee misconduct seriously," Sheriff Garry McFadden said. "Mr. Stuppard's actions are a violation of the law he swore to uphold. Terminating a staff member is never an easy decision but all employees of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office are required to demonstrate professional and ethical conduct."
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