Former Officer Busted In Jail For Ambien

A former Headland police officer, awaiting trial on a charges he planted drugs on another person's car, has been arrested on charges he illegally possessed a control substance while held in the Henry County Jail.  Jason Carey Hughes, 41, was charged with promoting prison contraband. 

A Henry County deputy, according to court records, found two pills in Hughes' pocket after the former officer returned from a doctor's appointment.  An investigation revealed the pills are Zolpidem, a generic form of Ambien, which is a controlled substance that induces sleep.  Hughes, according to documents, has no prescription for the drug which was found in a pair of shorts he was wearing November 5.

Hughes is scheduled to go on trial later this month in connection with his November, 2010 arrest on drug distribution charges. He is accused of planting marijuana behind the license plate of another person's car during what is described by prosecutors as a domestically motivated crime.  A judge later revoked Hughes' bail on the charge.

Hughes was sentenced in 2009 for illegally using the Law Enforcement Tactical System while working as a Headland officer.  The databank collects information, some of it personal, on many people including convicted criminals.  A 12-month suspended sentence was imposed and Hughes placed on probation.  A judge later revoked the suspended sentence and ordered Hughes to serve his jail sentence.