Mount Sterling man charged with smuggling drugs, cellphone into prison gets probation; prison sentence stayed

MOUNT STERLING, Ill. — A Mount Sterling man charged with three felonies for smuggling drugs and a cellphone into the Mount Sterling prison was sentenced Wednesday to four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and three years of probation.

Brown County State’s Attorney Michael Hill said the sentence for Joshua D. Havens, 49, imposed by Eighth Circuit Judge Jerry Hooker, was stayed pending successful completion of probation. The prison sentence could be accelerated if Havens violates the terms of his probation.

Havens pled guilty to one count of unauthorized bringing of contraband into a penal institution by an employee, a Class X felony. As part of the plea agreement, two similar counts were dismissed, as well as one count of manufacturing and distributing a look-alike substance with intent to deliver, a Class 3 felony.

Illinois State Police arrested Havens, who formerly worked as a carpenter at the Western Illinois Correctional Center, on Feb. 21 as part of an investigation into reports of contraband being brought into the prison. Havens wasn’t formally charged until April 26. The charges stem from incidents that occurred on Nov. 30, 2023.

Hill previously said Havens was accused of trying to bring into the prison 100 pills that looked like a controlled substance but were not.

Naomi Puzzello, public information officer for the Department of Corrections, told the Jacksonville Journal-Courier that Havens resigned on March 1.