Another employee at the Mt. Pleasant Correctional Facility received felony charges, this time in relation to alleged contraband smuggling at the prison.

Joseph Dean Martens Jr. is accused of receiving $3,500 in cash to smuggle tobacco products in the prison. He was charged with Unlawful Activity and Possession of Contraband in a Correctional Institution.

Charges were filed on April 2, and court records indicate that the smuggling was alleged to occur on October 1 of last year.

The charges follow the March arrest of Kimberly Joe Kerr, who was accused of carrying on a sexual relationship with an inmate at the facility while she was employed as a counselor. She also faces similar charges for alleged smuggling. Kerr pled not guilty at her April arraignment. 

Martens’ arraignment is scheduled for May 27 at 8 a.m. at the Henry County Courthouse. A jury trial for Kerr has been scheduled for August 12.