Three indicted in jail drug trafficking conspiracy case

A Laurel County Grand Jury indicted three people Friday, including the nephew of Whitley County Jailer Jerry Taylor, in connection with an April plot to allegedly sell drugs at the Whitley County Jail.
The grand jury charged Jason Croley, who at one time worked at the jail, and John Kanter with promoting contraband, conspiracy to traffic in a controlled substance, and for first and second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.
The grand jury charged Josh Croley, 18, with conspiracy to traffic in a controlled substance and for promoting contraband.
The Croleys are former step-grandsons of Taylor. Jerry Allen Taylor, the chief deputy jailer, used to be their step-father. Kanter is the jailer’s nephew.
All three entered not guilty pleas during their arraignment Friday in Laurel Circuit Court.
Judge Greg Lay scheduled an Aug. 22 hearing in the case, and a trial date could be set for the three defendants at that time.
Lay agreed to allow Jason Croley and Kanter to remain free on bond, court officials said.
Jason Croley and Kanter were charged following a sting operation conducted April 22 at a Laurel County motel by detectives with UNITE and the Kentucky State Police.
The two allegedly purchased OxyContin tablets and a small quantity of cocaine from undercover detectives.
At the time of their arrest, both men had a quantity of percocet in their possession. Jason Croley also had a quantity of anabolic steroids in his possession, a UNITE press release noted in April.
Josh Croley, who was already incarcerated at the Whitley County Jail for probation violation on an unrelated charge, was arrested three days later.
Jason Croley was reportedly let go at the jail three weeks before this incident after being arrested on an alcohol related charge.
“All three men were involved in a scheme to purchase drugs and distribute them to prisoners at the Whitley County Jail,” Karen Engle, executive director of UNITE, said in late April. “These arrests are the direct result of complaints that drugs were easily accessible within the jail and demonstrate that no one is immune from prosecution.
“These men had a direct pipeline to peddle drugs to the inmates. Jason Croley was carrying a pistol and an identification card showing he was a jail employee and Josh was already incarcerated.”
The Whitley County Fiscal Court recently hired an administrator to oversee operations at the jail following a hearing before the state department of corrections over various allegations at the facility. State corrections officials threatened to close the jail if an administrator wasn’t hired, and if immediate changes weren’t made.