Welcome to Arrest Stories. A Texas Department of Criminal Justice substance abuse counselor was arrested for allegedly smuggling contraband into a state jail facility where she worked. Here's what may have happened.
On December twenty-third, two thousand twenty-five, thirty-seven-year-old Jillian Hopkin was arrested at the Larry Gist State Jail where she was employed as a substance abuse counselor. According to police reports, Hopkin had been approached by an inmate twice with a request to bring papers into the correctional facility in exchange for payment.
The timeline of events began on December eighteenth or nineteenth when Hopkin received papers from an individual outside the prison system. That same timeframe, she received a one thousand dollar payment through the digital payment service Zelle from a free-world individual. Hopkin kept the contraband papers at her residence in Vidor.
According to official statements, Hopkin admitted she "didn't know what the papers might contain, but she thought it would be considered contraband." The investigation revealed that she "had been asked by an inmate, twice, to bring papers into the Gist Unit." Officials stated that Hopkin "thought about it after the second time being asked, then made contact with the inmate again and agreed to bring in the papers."
The arrest occurred when a Texas Department of Criminal Justice investigator received a call while en route to Larry Gist State Jail about a correctional officer admitting to being bribed. During the investigation, authorities discovered that Hopkin had smuggled synthetic marijuana and cigarettes in her underwear on previous occasions.
Police reports indicate that Hopkin "was promised payment of one thousand two hundred fifty dollars to introduce contraband into the Gist Unit and deliver it to an inmate." The investigation confirmed she "had received the papers from a free-world individual and had been paid one thousand dollars, through Zelle, prior to her attempting to introduce the papers into the correctional facility."
This arrest represents the second contraband smuggling case at the Gist Unit this month.
All suspects presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Do not take this report as factual, always verify facts. Thanks for watching Arrest Stories.