Houston lawyer linked to drug-laced paper at Harris County Jail
The Harris County Jail building at 701 N. San Jacinto Street in Houston on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.
Elizabeth Conley/Staff photographerattorney booth at the Harris County Jail. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office seized more than 750 pieces of paper, including what is pictured, from August until Nov. 8, 2023, believed to be laced with narcotics. I” alt=”A wood block is seen on Nov. 2, 2023, covering the document slot in an attorney booth at the Harris County Jail. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office seized more than 750 pieces of paper, including what is pictured, from August until Nov. 8, 2023, believed to be laced with narcotics. I” loading=”lazy” src=”data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQEBLAEsAAD/2wBDAA0JCgsKCA0LCgsODg0PEyAVExISEyccHhcgLikxMC4pLSwzOko+MzZGNywtQFdBRkxOUlNSMj5aYVpQYEpRUk//2wBDAQ4ODhMREyYVFSZPNS01T09PT09PT09PT09PT09PT09PT09PT09PT09PT09PT09PT09PT09PT09PT09PT09PT0//wAARCAAGAAgDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/xAAgEAABAwIHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAMEAhEFEhMhQVFh/8QAFAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAv/EABYRAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAv/aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8AnhUGJMbqiNs0ttZTqG29RAuefO0REsqRb//Z” style=”aspect-ratio:3 / 2″ class=”x100 y100 opc bgpc ofcv bgscv block bg-black mnh0px fill”/>A wood block is seen on Nov. 2, 2023, covering the document slot in an attorney booth at the Harris County Jail. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office seized more than 750 pieces of paper, including what is pictured, from August until Nov. 8, 2023, believed to be laced with narcotics. ICourtesy: Paul Morgan
A longtime Houston criminal lawyer appeared before a judge, not as an officer of the court, but a defendant accused of passing drug-laced paperwork to Harris County Jail inmates.
Prosecutors said they believe the smuggled narcotics scheme may be linked to a recent string of deaths in the jail.
Ronald Lewis, 77, leaned on a cane as he approached Judge Danilo Lacayo in the 182nd District Court on Monday on two drug charges related to paperwork sprayed with synthetic marijuana in liquid form that jailers have aimed to thwart through recent document restrictions. The use of defense attorneys to bring drugs into the jail is not widespread and lawyers have asked the Harris County Sheriff’s Office to not limit how attorney-client privileged documents are shared with inmates.
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Assistant District attorney Kim Smith identified Lewis as a licensed lawyer with the Texas bar. He received that license in 1982, records show.
None of his jailed clients, whether he had any, received the tainted papers, she said. Court records do not indicate whether Lewis had any clients or was being appointed to cases.
Lewis declined to comment when asked about the charges outside the courtroom.
The investigation revealed Lewis received CashApp payments from relatives of jailed defendants with comments that alluded to bringing tainted documents into the jail, Smith said in court. He likely did not manufacture the drugs sprayed on the paper and those tied to that part of the drug plot have not been apprehended, she continued.
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The deaths of three inmates at the jail may be connected to the smuggled drugs but a direct link had not been established, Smith said.
Lewis was arrested Saturday on suspicion of having a prohibited substance in a correctional facility. He made bail and had since hired attorney Tyrone Moncriffe, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, to represent him.
Judge Lacayo ordered Lewis to be prohibited from going to the jail or having contact with jailed inmates as part of his bail conditions. He is free on bond.
The judge asked the district attorney’s office whether his license with the state bar or access to the courthouse would be limited but she had no answers. Many lawyers have a frequent visitor pass that allows them to bypass security at the courthouse. An arrest can disqualify them from having that pass.
The arrest of Lewis was hailed by law enforcement and a news conference was scheduled for later Monday. In the weeks and months leading up to the charges against Lewis, the sheriff’s office had nailed shut document slots in the attorney booths to prevent paperwork from being passed to inmates — an action that defense attorneys have protested. Some mail is also being photocopied before being handed to defendants.
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Most people in jail typically are awaiting trial or a court date and have not been sentenced to prison time.
Criminal justice scholars have said state laws limit what jailers can do with privileged communications and the new limitations will present a dilemma for attorneys and defendants awaiting trial.
Murray Newman, head of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, aired concerns over privacy in light of the jail’s changing policies, saying that Lewis’ arrest may underscore law enforcement’s desire to keep the document restrictions in place.
He noted that Lewis was visiting inmates who were not his clients, while the restrictions impacts those who visit their clients for the purpose of their pending case.
“There’s no checks and balances that anything we’re providing to our clients is treated as confidential,” Newman said. “We don’t have a lot of remedy when a situation like that happens.”
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Hana Ikramuddin contributed to this report
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