Multiple suspects and criminal charges are pending after an ongoing investigation recovered a loaded hypodermic needle in the Law Enforcement Center Thursday. 

In a news release, Sheriff Lavender reported that deputies from his Corrections Division recovered it in the female rest room in the lobby of the law enforcement complex at 28 North Paint Street.  It is believed that the needle was meant to be conveyed into the Ross County Jail by an inmate worker.

Criminal charges are pending the results of lab testing of the substance in the hypodermic needle, a brown liquid presumed to be heroin.

In the announcement, Lavender said this was a result of an ongoing effort by the Sheriff’s Office to police and keep secure the Ross County Jail.  Sheriff Lavender restated his charge that the jail is a "city inside the City of Chillicothe and those who work to violate the law will be held accountable."