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Former dispatcher pleads guilty to smuggling pills into jail

Amy Hamilton

A Craig woman was sentenced to four years probation and fines of nearly $3,000 recently for attempting to smuggle sleeping pills into the Moffat County Jail for her son who was incarcerated there.

Penny Nelson, 56, pleaded guilty to the Class 6 felony charge of introduction of contraband into the jail at a Dec. 7 sentencing in district court. Nelson is a former dispatcher with the Colorado State Patrol.

According to the police report, Annette Gianinetti with the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office, talked with Nelson on June 16, when the woman attempted to visit her son, inmate Kelly Mosman, during jail visiting hours. Mosman was an inmate with worker status at the Public Safety Center at the time and had duties of cleaning the building.



Gianinetti asked Nelson to return a few hours later because the jail had lots of visitors. Nelson agreed but first headed to the women’s restroom in the lobby of the Public Safety Center.

Gianinetti said that she searched the restroom and found an unopened bottle of sleeping pills, the report stated.



After showing the bottle to Jail Administrator Lt. Dean Herndon, the bottle was replaced so officials could keep watch on Mosman.

The next day, Herndon said he found Mosman trying to conceal something by placing his left hand over his shirt pocket, according to a report filed by Moffat County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Ashton.

After being asked, Mosman handed over a sealed bottle of 100 pills that were identified as containing the active drug Diphenhydramine HCI.

Herndon told Mosman that he would be charged with a felony for introducing contraband into the jail, the report stated.


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