A former correctional officer accused of sneaking tobacco into the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility has been sentenced to probation. Thirty-three-year-old Joseph Dean Martens Junior of Keokuk received five years of probation after pleading guilty in Henry County Court to possession of contraband in a jail, a class D felony. Prosecutors say Martens had originally faced a possible prison sentence of up to 25 years.
According to court records, Martens admitted to bringing chewing tobacco into the prison for financial gain on multiple occasions between October of 2024 and February of 2025. Investigators say he received about 35-hundred dollars in cash in exchange for the tobacco, while other co-defendants allegedly helped move money through payment apps or distribute the contraband inside the prison.
His case is the second involving alleged criminal activity by staff members at the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility. Former prison counselor Kimberly Jo Kerr was also sentenced to probation last year after pleading guilty to bringing contraband into the facility.