Criminal defense lawyers fight to keep their clients out of jail.
One found himself behind bars with his customers after one bad decision.
And a Florida criminal defense lawyer was busted after this sick plan was exposed.
Florida attorney arrested for using legal papers to smuggle drugs into jail
Keeping drugs out of prisons and jails is harder than it seems.
Drugs being smuggled into jails has long been a serious problem across the country.
People are becoming increasingly sophisticated at finding ways to smuggle them to criminals behind bars.
Nathan Williams, a 37-year-old criminal defense attorney was visiting his clients at the Duval County Jail in Jacksonville, Florida on what seemed like routine meetings.
But these jailhouse trips were anything but ordinary.
The legal documents were dipped in a liquid version of synthetic marijuana that could be smoked by the prisoners.
“Nathan Williams, a local criminal defense attorney, was arrested for smuggling drug-soaked papers (synthetic marijuana) into the Duval County Jail using his professional access,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “Investigators believe Williams coordinated with inmates and their families to smuggle drug-laced legal paperwork into the jail in exchange for money.”
The sheriff’s office determined the legal paperwork was covered in ADB-PINACA, a synthetic version of marijuana manufactured from chemicals that have the street name K2 or paper dope.
Williams was arrested and found himself locked up with his former clients.
He was charged with two counts of giving narcotics to an inmate, two counts of conspiracy to smuggle a controlled substance into jail, two counts of unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and two counts of giving a communication to an inmate.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office targets criminal ring smuggling drugs into jail
Willams’ arrest was part of an 11-month investigation into a criminal ring that was smuggling drugs into the Duval County Jail.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested 21 individuals involved with the smuggling of the drugs.
Undersheriff Shawn Coarsey said Williams disgraced his profession.
“Jails operate as a microcosm of our larger society. The same ills that plague our community also plague our jails. The illegal abuse of narcotics is no exception to this reality,” Coarsey said. “This agency takes its responsibility very seriously to provide care for those who are detained in the Duval County Jail, that an attorney used the professional access, according to him, to smuggle a controlled substance into the jail is deeply disturbing and disappointing.”
The National Library of Medicine pointed out that drug-soaked papers are becoming a trend for smuggling narcotics in prisons.
“Recreational use of drug-soaked paper strips … in correctional facilities poses a major public health risk owing to the diverse and potentially severe toxic effects of the substances they contain,” the National Library of Medicine wrote in a 2024 report.
Coarsey said that drug overdoses in the jail have dropped 61% since the busts.
Criminals are constantly trying to come up with creative ways to break the law.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this story.
