Defense attorney, 2 others accused of smuggling narcotics to Harris County inmate
Hunter Simmons (left) and Tanisha Denise Butler (right)
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - The Harris County Sheriff's Office announced the arrests of a defense attorney and two others accused of smuggling drug-laced paper into a correctional facility.
Hunter Hays Simmons, 39, an attorney in the Houston area, was arrested along with Tanisha D. Butler, 40, and Joshua J. Piper, 22. All three face charges of Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity and Prohibited Substance in a Correctional Facility.
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Investigators say the Harris County Sheriff's Office Human Trafficking Unit started investigating suspected drug smuggling activities within the Harris County Detention Center. This started because of an unrelated human trafficking investigation.
Evidence revealed Simmons as a possible accomplice in this smuggling operation.
He is suspected of delivering the drug-laced paper to his client, who is an inmate at the detention center.
Last week, several sheets of paper laced with synthetic marijuana were recovered during the investigation.
Butler was also identified in the investigation.
Joshua Jovan Piper, 22, is accused of delivering the drugs from the manufacturer to Simmons.
Simmons has a combined bond of $75,000. There is no bond listed for Butler. Piper has a combined bond of $100.000.
Simmons, Butler and Piper are each facing two to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are possible.