A Washington State defense attorney was arraigned in federal court Monday after being indicted for participating in a criminal conspiracy to smuggle drugs into the King County Correctional Facility (KCCF) in Seattle during client visits, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon announced today.
John M. Sheeran, 60, of Pierce County, has been charged with conspiring to distribute controlled substances, possessing and distributing methamphetamine, distributing buprenorphine, and illegally using a communication facility, according to the indictment.
The indictment alleges that Sheeran used his position as an attorney to bring controlled substances, including methamphetamine, ketamine, buprenorphine, and THC, to two clients who were inmates at KCCF during legal visits.
According to the indictment, Sheeran distributed drug-soaked sheets of paper, chewing tobacco cans where the tobacco had been replaced with drugs, and trial clothing with drugs hidden in the soles of shoes.
Once the drugs were successfully smuggled into the facility, Sheeran’s co-conspirators sold them to other inmates for substantial profits, the indictment states.