A Florida attorney is said to have tried to smuggle cocaine into a county jail by soaking papers in the drug and trying to pass them off as legal documents, the Sun-Sentinel reports. David Allen Casals, 55, of West Palm Beach, was charged with trafficking cocaine, a first-degree felony, as well as a second-degree felony charge of delivery of cocaine and a third-degree felony charge of introduction of contraband into a county facility, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office reveals.
- He was caught red-handed. Casals checked in as a visitor at Palm Beach County Jail on October 24, where a deputy searched the items he’d brought in with him. One of the items the deputy inspected was a manila folder containing 37 pieces of paper “with bible quotes and pictures of an unknown woman.”
- Casals thought he had a foolproof plan. An arrest affidavit revealed that the deputy noticed the papers were hidden beneath a cover sheet that “attempted to disguise the papers as a transcription translation” of an audio file for an inmate from Spanish to English. However, the deputy also noticed stains from a see-through substance that looked somewhat like watermarks. After the papers were taken and tested, the sheriff’s office forensic scientist revealed on November 1 that two of the pieces of paper were positive for cocaine. In fact, they contained 9.9 grams of cocaine, with more pages eventually bringing the total to 29.5 grams.
- The papers had been “saturated with cocaine.” We’re not talking a trace here – testing all of the pages revealed a positive weight of over 136 grams. Only nine pages were free of the substance. “Because of the attorney-client relationship, you are given the opportunity to be able to visit with your client face-to-face, strategize face-to-face, review face-to-face,” attorney Doug Rudman told WPTV-TV. “No doubt the Palm Beach County jail is going to be looking at and revisiting its policies and procedures.”
- Casals turned himself in to authorities on Friday. If convicted on all three charges, he faces a maximum of 50 years in prison. Given his position as an attorney, this abuse of power is likely to see him receive a much harsher sentence, though that remains to be seen.
- He’s currently released on bail. WFOR-TV reports that Casals posted $58,000 bail on the same day of booking. He awaits a court appearance. He plans to plead not guilty to the charges against him.
