78-year-old defense attorney accused of smuggling drug-laced papers into Harris County Jail dies

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- The 78-year-old attorney who was accused of smuggling drug-laced papers into the Harris County Jail has died.

According to ABC13's news partners at the Houston Chronicle, Ronald Lewis died of natural causes in January.

Authorities accused him of using his status as an attorney to smuggle paperwork sprayed with synthetic marijuana into the jail in 2023.

He was charged with two counts of having a prohibited substance in a correctional facility.

According to court records, those charges filed in 2023 were dropped on Tuesday.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations and Security Division said Lewis' arrest came after an investigation was launched in June following the death of two inmates back in 2023, as well as several others having adverse reactions to the drugs.

In July 2023, authorities said they received information from sources in the jail that Lewis was allegedly bringing in papers soaked in K2, PCP, and "Spice" when he visited inmates.

Investigators said from July to November, Lewis visited 14 inmates who were not his clients.

According to Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Smith, who is assigned to the case, inmates were selling them inside the jail, and others were smoking them. She said that makes it difficult to trace who took the drugs and where they originated from.

Investigators are working to determine who brought the drugs into the jail because, during the investigation, numerous people have been found to be smuggling the prohibited substances. Authorities said several attorneys are involved, although they do not appear to work together.

Lewis had posted his bond and was released from custody.

The Houston Chronicle reported that hundreds of criminal cases were handled by the late attorney.

Lewis became a licensed attorney in 1982 after graduating from Texas Southern University's law school, according to his obituary. He was also a U.S. Army veteran and served in the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968.

RELATED: Numerous attorneys believed to be smuggling drugs into jail, Harris Co. Sheriff's Office says