Inmate had nearly $30,000 in commissary account from selling drugs in jail, TX cops say

An elaborate drug-selling process allowed a prison inmate to net nearly $30,000 in his jail commissary account by selling cannabis-laced papers to inmates, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

The inmate, who was in custody for five felony charges including murder, and his two family members were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity between October 2023 to June 2024, according to prosecutors. They face up to life in prison if convicted.

Attorney information for the inmate and one family member was not listed. The public defender for the other family member could not be reached for comment.

Investigators were tipped off to the laundering activity when sheriff’s deputies listened to the inmate’s calls and observed his high balance in his commissary account at the Harris County Jail in Houston, Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Smith said during a July 23 news conference.

Deputies also searched the inmate’s cell in March 2024 and found papers with “noticeable yellow discoloration,” which they later determined to be synthetic marijuana, according to the criminal complaint.

Prosecutors say the inmate was able to accumulate more than $28,000 in his commissary account from selling drugs.

Commissary accounts are bank accounts for inmates that are used to purchase things such as personal hygiene items, food and stationary while incarcerated. “Nothing costs more than a few dollars,” District Attorney Kim Ogg said.

Inmates can also access this money once released unless it is in evidence, prosecutors said. In this case, the inmate’s commissary money is being investigated and was seized, according to Ogg.

In Harris County Jail, the inmate would conduct drug deals with other inmates, prosecutors said. The inmates purchasing the drugs would have someone outside of prison send money via Cashapp to the inmate’s step sister and cousin, prosecutors said.

The inmate’s two family members and co-defendants in this case would then transfer the money from Cashapp to his commissary account, Smith said.

Typically, commissary accounts are capped at $200, but there are some loopholes, Smith described.

The inmate’s two family members were using a kiosk to send funds to the inmate’s bank account, Smith said, since there is no cap on how much someone can send. There are over 800 kiosk locations , according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Smith and Ogg said the investigation is ongoing, but they have not been able to determine how the drugs are getting into the jail. Prosecutors said paper laced with synthetic marijuana and fentanyl is still being smuggled into the jail.

Synthetic drugs are illegal in Texas, according to the Texas General’s Office. Synthetic cannabinoids are “a mix of plant matter sprayed with chemicals in sometimes dangerously high proportions, falsely marketed as ‘legal highs’ and smoked like marijuana,” according to the office.

There have been two fentanyl-related deaths in the Harris County Jail, prosecutors said. They are investigating if those deaths were connected to this case.

Two others — an attorney and a detention officer — were accused in November 2023 of smuggling drug-laced papers and smuggling drugs into the jail, according to KTRK.