Harris County investigators accuse attorney Jason Johnson of slipping his client paper laced with synthetic marijuana that was placed in jail

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — Officers handcuffed a person in criminal court on Monday, but the Harris County sheriff said the detainee makes his living defending suspected criminals.

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced the arrest of Jason Johnson after the police Criminal Investigation and Security Division alleged that the defense attorney slipped leaves laced with synthetic marijuana to his client, a prison inmate.

Johnson is accused of possession of a controlled substance in a correctional facility and involvement in organized crime.

According to court documents, an investigator listened to calls from the jail for another investigation and heard a plan to be implemented at the courthouse the following Monday, August 5. Authorities used the information from the jail call to narrow down the involvement to inmate Jamie Joel Rook-Perez, who charged with murder.

During the hearing, law enforcement monitored his attorney, Johnson.

A woman who knows Rook-Perez arrived with an envelope that investigators said contained six drug-laced papers marked as powers of attorney. She gave the envelope to Johnson, who passed it to Rook-Perez in the jail area.

In the indictment, investigators noted that Johnson appeared nervous after the exchange in the hallways.

The envelope was confiscated from Rook-Perez during a search of all inmates in that area before he left the courthouse.

Later that day, charging documents said Johnson contacted the woman and told her she and Perez were under investigation and she would likely be arrested in the next few days. She said he suggested she leave town.

Johnson had originally demanded a payment of $2,000 for the August 5 court hearing, but then he told her he no longer wanted the money because he “did not want proof of payment after yesterday,” court documents say.

Investigators questioned the woman, who has not yet been charged, and Rook-Perez.

Rook-Perez said Johnson knew what was in the envelope. He said he told Johnson in the days before the exchange that he had devised a way to pay his legal fees, using the phrase “pass the papers.”

On Friday, Aug. 9, the Harris County District Attorney's Office received a letter from Vikram Vij, a criminal defense attorney, informing them that he was now representing Johnson in an ongoing public corruption investigation, charging documents say.

Vij's letter came before charges were filed. It's unclear how Johnson knew an investigation was underway.

Johnson was seen on ABC13 when he Spivey's, a bar in the Third Wardin 2022, which the City of Houston deemed a nuisance and attempted to close.

If this sounds familiar, the Harris County Sheriff's Office has arrested a 77-year-old attorney. Ronald Lewisarrested nine months ago and accused of the same smuggling. At the time, prosecutors revealed that Lewis' arrest was allegedly part of a Months-long operation There are theories that smuggling behind prison walls may be linked to the inmate deaths last year.

READ MORE: Numerous lawyers are accused of smuggling drugs into prison, says Harris County Sheriff's Office

In a press release, Gonzalez said he created his Criminal Investigation and Security Division last year “as part of an aggressive effort to stop the flow of deadly contraband into the prison.” He added that measures such as drug-sniffing dogs and increased security screening for prison staff and visitors have already been implemented.

While investigating Johnson's case, investigators may file additional charges of witness tampering.

He has to appear in court on Tuesday morning.

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