Deputy sold ‘individually packed’ pot brownies to inmates, Florida sheriff says

A Florida deputy was arrested after a sheriff said he was selling “individually packed” pot brownies to inmates.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said investigators found more than a pound of “cannabis-laced” brownies at the Falkenburg Road Jail in Tampa. Detectives responded to a tip Jan. 3 that the deputy was selling “drug-laced edibles” to inmates for profit and found the brownies in his lunch box, according to a news release from the agency.

Deputies arrested Terry Bradford, Jr., 25, on Jan. 4, according to a post on the sheriff’s department Facebook story.

Bradford used CashApp to collect money from inmates and made “a few thousand” dollars in profits, Chronister said.

Bradford was previously employed as an officer with the Florida Department of Corrections at the Zephyrhills Correctional Institute, according to the sheriff’s office. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office hired him as a pre-certified detention deputy in August 2021. He was assigned to the Falkenburg Road Jail in October 2021, according to the agency. He is now on administrative leave without pay.

Bradford is facing charges, including introduction of contraband into a detention facility and possession of a controlled substance, the sheriff’s office said.

“Bradford betrayed the trust of the agency and our community strictly for greed,” Chronister said in a statement. “I don’t want the poor actions of one deputy sheriff to reflect on the hard-working, dedicated, and selfless service of the men and woman that make up the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.”

This story was originally published January 5, 2023 at 12:56 PM with the headline "Deputy sold ‘individually packed’ pot brownies to inmates, Florida sheriff says."