Man Charged for Bringing Tobacco into Jail

Jail deputies say they charged an inmate at the Twin Falls County Jail for bringing tobacco into the jail. According to an arrest report, deputies found inmate Jonathan Rowland, 25, hid a baggie of tobacco inside his body. On Aug. 28 at about 6:45 p.m., a jail deputy was conducting cell checks when he noticed the smell of smoke coming from one of the cell blocks, the report states.

The deputy wrote that the smoke smelled like cigarettes and he and other deputies had all the inmates in that block stand against a wall with their hands up. Two deputies patted down all the inmates while another escorted the inmates one by one to a dressing room for a strip-search, the report states. Each inmate was asked if they had any contraband and then a visual strip-search was conducted. The report states all inmates denied having contraband.

 Upon searching Rowland, the report states a deputy saw a plastic baggie fall to the floor during the search. According to the report, Rowland told the deputy it was tobacco and he was allowed to have it at a different jail he had been to in Georgia. According to the report, deputies said they found electrical wires in the cell that were destroyed. Deputies believed inmates used the wires to create a spark in order to light the tobacco. A pretrial conference in the case is set for Sept. 18.