Woman sentenced in connection with contraband candles at Nebraska prison

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A woman was sentenced Tuesday in a scheme to smuggle drugs into a Nebraska prison.

Leanne Strong, 54, got eight to 12 years behind bars for delivery of a controlled substance.

With credit for more than a year already in custody, Strong will be eligible for parole in about three years.

In April 2021, the Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln received a package for an inmate that contained 11 candles, incense and religious clothes.

But an X-ray discovered that those items weren’t so innocent, according to the Nebraska State Patrol.

Court documents say that inside the candles, investigators found 22.6 grams of synthetic cannabis compounds, 57 grams of methamphetamine, glass pipes, rolling papers, vape pens and cellphones.

SEE ALSO: Women hid meth, phones in candles to smuggle them into Nebraska prison, affidavit says

Authorities used fingerprints on items inside the package to trace it to Strong and Dawnelle Vaughn.

A witness told investigators that Strong and Vaughn made the candles to sneak contraband into prison.

They were arrested after an investigation that lasted more than two years.

Vaughn was convicted of delivery of a controlled substance and attempted delivery of a controlled substance.

She got three to six years in prison.

Stong was found guilty after taking a plea deal in November.