Brandon woman sentenced to prison for attempting to smuggle meth into penitentiary
AG's office, corrections officials, investigating inmate overdose deaths
A Brandon woman has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty for attempting to distribute a controlled substance at the South Dakota State Penitentiary, Attorney General Marty Jackley announced Wednesday.
Melissa Rae Cockerham, 46, was sentenced in Minnehaha County Circuit Court after admitting she tried to smuggle drugs into the penitentiary in Sioux Falls. Three and a half years of her prison sentence were suspended.
The sentencing came on the same day that Kellie Wasko, the secretary of the South Dakota Department of Corrections, led a media tour inside The Hill at the penitentiary. Following the tour, she answered questions, including those about drugs that have been brought into the prison, leading to three inmate overdose deaths.
