Attorney pleads guilty to drug-related charges

Bryan Lee Simmons, 49 of Cass County, has pleaded guilty to a federal drug violation in the Eastern District of Texas.

U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox announced Sept. 14 that Simmons pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine before U.S. Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne. Simmons agreed to be sentenced to four years in federal prison and not to engage in the practice of law for at least three years after.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Texas, information was presented in court that Simmons agreed with others to distribute methamphetamine in the Cass County Jail beginning in July 2019 and continuing through August 2019.

“Specifically, on August 29, 2019, he entered the Cass County Jail under the guise of meeting with a client. When he entered the jail, he had methamphetamine hidden on his body, which he intended to distribute to an inmate. Simmons had smuggled drugs into the jail on at least two prior occasions. When Simmons drove to the jail that day, he was carrying a Colt MK IV 0.45 caliber pistol”, the release read.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment March 18, 2020, charging Simmons with federal drug trafficking crimes. Under federal statutes, Simmons faced up to a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers Division, with assistance from the Cass County, Texas, District Attorney’s Office and the Cass County, Texas, Sheriff ’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan R. Hornok.