Defense attorney accused of smuggling drugs into Duval jail

A defense attorney has been charged with slipping drug-soaked paper to inmates in the Duval County jail.

Nathan Samuel Williams, 37, of Jacksonville, was arrested Sunday and charged with eight third-degree felonies related to drug trafficking and inmate communications.

The arrest was part of “Operation Stamp Collection,” a monthslong investigation into how drugs were getting into the jail, Undersheriff Shawn Coarsey said Tuesday.

“Using both the physical and telephonic access afforded him as a criminal defense attorney, Williams coordinated with inmates and inmate family members to smuggle sheets of purported legal paperwork into the jail.” 

The paperwork was imbued with synthetic marijuana, a Schedule 1 controlled substance also known as paper dope.  

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Investigators say Williams was delivering the drug-soaked paper to inmates in exchange for money.   

The Sheriff’s Office says there have been 20 other arrests of people smuggling drugs into the jail since February, though there’s no evidence they were working together.