A former Delaware County corrections officer from Darby pleaded guilty this month to conspiring to smuggle drugs into the jail where he worked, capping a case that began with a tip from an inmate and ended with an undercover officer handing him a package near the facility and Peacock handing over $2,000 in cash.
Brian Peacock, 38, entered his plea to one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, as reported by the Delco Times. Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Dominic Pileggi sentenced Peacock to time served to 23 months of confinement, followed by three years of consecutive probation, according to the outlet's report. Peacock received credit for 15 days already served.
The plea terms were negotiated by Cierra Eckenrode and Arik Ben-Ari, and prosecutors withdrew every other charge against Peacock once he admitted to the conspiracy count. Those dropped charges had included criminal use of a communication facility, solicitation to possess a controlled substance with intent to deliver, criminal attempt to bring contraband and controlled substances into the prison, and possession with intent to deliver. Peacock had earlier waived his preliminary hearing in the case.
How the Sting Unfolded at George W. Hill
The case traces back to October 6, 2025, when Peacock met with an inmate at the Delaware County jail in Concord, according to the criminal affidavit cited by the Delco Times. That inmate later told investigators that Peacock had been bringing narcotics into the prison and distributing them to other inmates. Notably, Peacock was not assigned to the surveillance location that day, but surveillance video showed him conversing with the inmate at the time and place described.
During that conversation, Peacock allegedly asked whether the inmate was ready to receive smuggled contraband. Delaware County Detective Michele Deery and the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division took over the investigation from there. The inmate passed along a phone number for an undercover officer, and Peacock began contacting that officer on October 31, 2025.
According to the affidavit, the inmate told Deery on October 30 that Peacock had set a $2,000 fee for delivering the package. Investigators arranged for the undercover officer to communicate with Peacock directly, and Peacock told the officer he would smuggle the items into the jail that day or the next.
The Handoff and the Arrest
The undercover officer met Peacock at a predetermined location in Glen Mills near the county jail on November 3, 2025, per the affidavit referenced in the Delco Times report. Peacock reportedly described the block as “hot” during that meeting. The officer told Peacock the package contained cigarettes and Suboxone, and Peacock received it believing it held the agreed contraband before handing over $2,000 in cash.
The package Peacock believed he was delivering actually contained approximately 170 strips of Suboxone and three packs of cigarettes, based on the account in the Delco Times story. Peacock then drove to the county jail and entered the parking lot at 3:46 p.m. that day. Officials stopped him as he arrived for his shift, and a search of his vehicle turned up the $2,000 in cash from the undercover buy.
After being read his Miranda warning, Peacock admitted to meeting the undercover officer and said he had destroyed the drugs because he believed the officer was actually a police officer, according to the outlet's account. He was taken into custody following the vehicle search. His bail was initially set at 10 percent of $100,000, an amount he could not post, before it was reduced to $250,000 unsecured on November 18, 2025, allowing his release that same day.
Sentence Includes Forfeiture, Community Service, DNA Sample
As part of his sentence, Peacock must forfeit $1,000 and pay a separate $1,000 fine, complete 40 hours of community service, and comply with any recommendations from a substance abuse and mental health evaluation. He is also required to provide a DNA sample to state police.
Peacock's guilty plea adds another entry to a long list of contraband cases at George W. Hill Correctional Facility, Delaware County's central detention site, as Hoodline has previously reported. Delaware County took over full public management of the facility in April 2022, ending its contract with private operator The GEO Group, which had made it Pennsylvania's only privately run county jail, according to WHYY.
Despite that shift toward public oversight, guards and inmates at the jail have repeatedly faced smuggling charges in the years since. In April 2024, former guard Damon Joyner pleaded guilty to contraband and drug charges for bringing Suboxone, Xanax, marijuana and cigarettes into the jail for an inmate, and was sentenced to 11.5 to 23 months of confinement, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. That same year, married corrections officers Adham Diab and Lina Tarrad were scheduled for trial after being charged in connection with fentanyl smuggling at the facility in January 2024, the Inquirer reported separately.
Other cases have involved less conventional methods. In August 2024, Delaware County authorities charged guard Jazzmaine Lancit with possession with intent to deliver after finding paper soaked in synthetic marijuana, known as K2, inside her facility locker following tips that she was selling drugs to inmates, according to the Haverford Patch. That same month, investigators charged inmate Harvey Weaver and his wife Michelle Morse with drug possession and conspiracy after intercepting a scheme to smuggle K2 into the jail hidden inside fake legal documents and family photos carried by an unwitting defense attorney, per the Inquirer's reporting.
Staff Turnover and Union Grievances
The recurring smuggling cases have unfolded alongside significant turmoil in the jail's leadership. Warden Laura K. Williams resigned in August 2025 after guiding the facility through its transition to public control, and the facility's warden resigned in June 2026, according to the Delaware Valley Journal.
Frustration among rank-and-file staff has also been documented. In June 2024, the Delaware County Prison Employees Independent Union issued a vote of no confidence against the jail's administration, submitting a 42-item list of grievances that cited persistent drug smuggling, severe understaffing, and low employee morale. The county had signed a labor agreement with the corrections officers' union in October 2023 that raised pay across the board by $3 an hour, bringing starting wages to $24 an hour after 17 months of negotiations following the public takeover.
Bribe-driven smuggling schemes at the jail predate even the county's 2022 takeover. In August 2021, former guard Shahonda Groves was arrested and charged with bringing contraband to a confined person after investigators determined she had smuggled Suboxone strips into the jail for an inmate on at least five occasions in exchange for cash payments.
