Published: November 08, 2007 10:20 am      

Former OSP officer bound over for trial

A former lieutenant at Oklahoma State Penitentiary has been ordered bound over for trial on drug-related charges in Pittsburg County District Court.

Marion Bess, 44, has been ordered to stand trial on charges of conspiracy to possess a controlled dangerous substance, methamphetamine; bringing contraband into a state penal institution and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, according to court records.

DOC Internal Affairs investigators had arrested Bess at the prison on July 5 and booked him into the Pittsburg County Jail. Investigators later linked the arrest of Bess to that of other individuals, many of whom had been arrested during a drug crackdown in April, according to allegations in court documents.

While serving as a lieutenant at OSP, Bess had been a shift supervisor on the prison’s H Unit, which includes death row and administrative segregation, said DOC spokesman Jerry Massie.