No contest plea for man who repeatedly brought drugs into jail

Siordia received two years supervised probation for the drug offense as well as 90 days in County Jail for petty theft on a prior case. He stole shirts, pants and shoes from the Hillsdale Macy’s Aug. 28, Chang said. 

The Sheriff’s Office-run county jails have been struggling with drug-related issues and in-custody deaths in the past two years. On the Monday prior to Siordia’s visit in September, 31-year-old Markeisha Monique Renee Blount died while in custody at the Maple Street Correctional Center. 

While the Coroner’s Office is still investigating her cause of death, murder charges were filed against a woman who allegedly provided her with drugs before she died. 

Drugs were involved in three of the six other deaths that have occurred in county jails since January 2023. 

On Nov. 17, Sheriff’s Office deputies confiscated approximately 86 grams of suspected cocaine from a suspect during the booking process, according to a press release Nov. 18. The individual who was allegedly in possession of those drugs, 36-year-old Jazz Svarda, was booked on an outstanding felony warrant and possession of a controlled substance in a correctional facility, among other drug-related charges.