CHILLICOTHE — A Toledo woman has been indicted by a Ross County grand jury on charges she smuggled drugs into a state prison hidden inside a hair tie. Trista Brown allegedly entered the grounds of the Ross Correctional Institution in July wearing a hair tie with drugs concealed inside it, according to Jenna Hornyak, an investigator for the Ross County Prosecutor’s Office. Officers noticed Brown removing the hair tie and placing it on her unnamed co-defendant’s arm. Inside the accessory, investigators found rubber balloons containing multiple grams of two different cannabinoid drugs. Brown was indicted on illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse onto the grounds of a detention facility, a third-degree felony. Investigators also reported that Brown left her minor son alone at a hotel while the incident took place.
The case was among seventeen presented to the Ross County grand jury, with all seventeen returning true bills. Also indicted was Jeffrey Holbert of Frankfort, charged with kidnapping, a first-degree felony, and abduction, a third-degree felony, after a victim reported being slammed to the ground, threatened, and locked in a garage before escaping to call for help. Smuggling contraband into Ohio’s prisons remains a persistent challenge for corrections officials. Detention facilities use layered screening — from pat-downs to body scanners — but visitors continue to find creative ways to conceal drugs. Prosecutors say the case is a reminder that the penalties extend well beyond the prison fence. Anyone caught bringing drugs onto detention grounds faces felony charges of their own.
Brown’s case will proceed through Ross County Common Pleas Court. No trial date has been announced.