Correctional officer faces drug charges

WHITEVILLE, Tenn. — A correctional officer is out of a job and facing drug charges after a joint operation by the Whiteville Police Department and the Tennessee Department of Correction.

Investigators say 23-year-old Latosha West is accused of attempting to bring marijuana to an inmate at the Hardeman County Correctional Facility.

Whiteville Police Chief Steven Stanley says after a parking lot search, West admitted to having the drug in her car.

“She was very nervous and then she finally admitted that she had a package on her that she was attempting to take in to one of the inmates,” Chief Stanley said.

West was arrested Thursday. She is being held in the Hardeman County Criminal Justice Complex in lieu of a $50,000 bond.