YOUNGSTOWN A former maintenance worker at the Trumbull County Correctional Institution was sentenced Thursday to 30 months in federal prison for attempting to smuggle drugs and a cell phone to an inmate.

U.S. District Court Judge Dan Aaron Polster handed down the sentence to James P. Jackson of Niles. In addition to the prison term, Jackson was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and serve three years of supervised release.

Jackson pleaded guilty in July to one count of extortion.

According to court documents, Jackson used his position as a maintenance worker to agree to smuggle contraband into the Leavittsburg facility in February 2024. Prosecutors said Jackson agreed to deliver two packages containing a cell phone, SIM cards, and drugs to an inmate.

The packages contained 98 grams of m

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