Courts, crime & arrests
All felony drug charges lodged against an inmate at Bucks County Correctional Facility for allegedly bringing contraband into the jail stolen from a Philadelphia hospital where he was being treated while in custody were held for Bucks County Common Pleas Court.
James Abbott, 35, is charged by Bucks County detectives and county Department of Corrections with felony counts of possession of contraband, possession of a controlled substance by an inmate, and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, according to charging documents.
On Feb. 26, 2026, at 8:25 p.m., a corrections officer on duty saw a small piece of paper that had been slid under the door and intended for another inmate, police said. The paper was intercepted by an officer, who saw that it contained an orange strip substance believed to be contraband, police said.
Abbott, who resided in the cell, told an officer that he brought the contraband back with him from Temple University Hospital, police said.
On March 2, an investigator spoke with Abbott, who admitted that the contraband was suboxone, or buprenorphine, and that he hid it underneath his ID wristband while at the hospital and brought it to the jail upon being discharged, according to the complaint.
On March 5, the contraband was sent for testing and identification. Police said the lab results confirmed the contraband was buprenorphine or naloxone, police said.
Bail is set at $10,000 unsecured. Formal arraignment is set for May 15 and a pre-trial conference/guilty plea hearing July 15.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
