Pubdate: Sat, 01 Sep 2001
Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN)
Copyright: 2001 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.
Contact:  http://www.knoxnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/226
Author: J J Stambaugh, News-Sentinel Staff Writer

SEVIERVILLE LAWYER FACES DRUG CHARGE

Sheriff Says Plan Was To Smuggle Cocaine Into Jail

A defense lawyer was jailed Friday after Knox County Sheriff's Department 
investigators accused him of trying to smuggle cocaine into the jail, 
authorities said. Keith Eric Haas, 34, of Sevierville, was charged with one 
count of possession of cocaine with the intent to sell or distribute, said 
Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison.

Haas was allegedly paid cash to deliver an ounce of powder cocaine to an 
inmate housed in the jail's maximum-security unit in the basement of the 
City County Building, Hutchison explained.

Investigators believe Haas would have given the cocaine to a client in a 
private area set aside for criminal defendants to meet with their lawyers, 
but sheriff's deputies took him into custody on the Cumberland Avenue Strip 
before the delivery could be made, Hutchison continued.

"I'm not sure where we go from here," Hutchison said. "The area has been 
breached, and this is a serious problem. Any type of drug or contraband 
being brought into a penal institution is very serious."

If convicted in Knox County Criminal Court, Haas faces an 8- to 12-year 
prison sentence and up to $100,000 in fines.

Bond was set at $5,000, Hutchison said.

Authorities have recently been looking into reports that "a lawyer was 
bringing drugs into the jail," Hutchison said, along with several other 
types of contraband that have been seized over the past several weeks.

In one instance, a cellular phone was given to a prisoner who managed to 
sneak it into his cell before it was discovered, the sheriff said.

Also, a handcuff key was found in a secure attorney-client meeting chamber 
near a courtroom in the City County building, he said.

"This is even more alarming because we're talking about handcuff keys and 
drugs making it into a maximum-security facility," Hutchison said.

About 4 p.m. Thursday, an undercover Sheriff's Department officer made a 
"controlled delivery" of cocaine to Haas at Calhoun's on the River, 400 
Neyland Drive, according to the arrest warrant.

When Haas left the restaurant, several officers followed his vehicle 
through the downtown and University of Tennessee areas until he parked off 
Cumberland Avenue. As Haas got out of his vehicle and started toward a 
nearby eatery, he was approached by the officers, the warrant says.

After Haas was advised of his Miranda rights, he allegedly gave the 
officers permission to search his vehicle, and the cocaine was found in an 
envelope in a briefcase on the front passenger seat, the warrant states.

Hutchison said that investigators have concluded Haas was planning to 
smuggle the cocaine into the jail but declined to give further details.

Haas' wife, Amber Haas, is an assistant public defender in Cocke County, 
and the couple have a 14-month-old child, Hutchison said.

The investigation is ongoing, and authorities believe others may be 
involved, he added.

"It's several people," the sheriff said.
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