LAWYER BRINGS SUSPICIOUS SUBSTANCE INTO JAIL

Sheriff Investigates Why Material Not Tested

Why a lawyer bringing a lotion bottle filled with a "green, leafy
substance" into the Shelby County Jail was allowed to take the bottle
and leave is the subject of an internal affairs investigation,
officials said Wednesday.

The material was inside the briefcase of the attorney, who was
visiting a client in the jail.

It was discovered during a routine X-ray machine screening Monday
night at the jail annex entrance, Shelby County Sheriff Mark Luttrell
said.

But inexplicably, the substance wasn't tested to determine whether it
was marijuana or tobacco, Luttrell said.

Had it been marijuana, the attorney faced potential charges of
possessing an illegal substance and trying to bring an illegal
substance into a penal facility.

A shift supervisor -- either a sergeant or lieutenant -- instructed
the sheriff's deputy to give it back, and the attorney was sent on his
way.

Luttrell wouldn't name the attorney, but said he's been banned from
the jail, as is anyone who tries to bring contraband into the jail.
Tobacco is also banned in the jail.

"There were some procedural errors," Luttrell said.

"When the officer found the substance, it should have been tested," he
said.

There was no proof that the attorney was bringing the bottle to his
client, Luttrell said.

To date, no administrative action has been taken against the
supervisor.