Correctional Officer Charged With Taking Bribes To Smuggle Drugs, Tobacco, More Into NJ Jail

A New Jersey correctional police officer pocketed thousands of dollars in bribes from inmates in exchange for smuggling drugs, tobacco and other contraband into the Mercer County jail, authorities charged.

Tyree L. Hobbs, 39, of Hamilton, was on the take for nearly five years beginning in 2017 -- less than a year after he joined the Mercer County Department of Corrections, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said.
Photo Credit: *Mercer County Correctional Center*

Jerry DeMarco

01/07/2024 5:06 a.m.

Tyree L. Hobbs, 39, of Hamilton, was on the take for nearly five years, beginning in 2017 -- less than a year after he joined the Mercer County Department of Corrections, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said.

And although he paid some inmates in cash, others paid the $300 to $2,500 fee per delivery through mobile apps, the attorney general said.

A grand jury in Trenton indicted Hobbs in December on charges that include official misconduct.

He'd originally been arrested last June after being suspended without pay from the Mercer County Correctional Center near the Delaware River in Hopewell Township in July 2022, Plakin said.

Hobbs "put personal profit ahead of his duty to protect inmates, his fellow officers, and the public," the attorney general said.

Hobbs was a conduit for the inmates, shuttling in packages that he received from their associates outside the jail. He then left the items in locations accessible to the intended recipients.

He got paid fairly well in return, Platkin said.

Deputy Attorney General Brian Uzdavinis is handling the case for the state Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.

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