Thursday, 4:30 PM
Lawyer allegedly tried to smuggle drugs into Walpole prison
By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff
A 46-year-old lawyer is facing several drug charges after he was allegedly found with packets of heroin as he was about to visit clients in the state prison in Walpole.
Kevin L. Barron was being searched by corrections officers at about 5 p.m. yesterday before entering MCI-Cedar Junction when the officers found "small packets of a powdery substance" that turned out to be heroin, said Norfolk district attorney's spokesman David Traub.
Barron pleaded not guilty today at his arraignment in Wrentham District Court to charges of delivering drugs to a prisoner, possession of a Class A substance, and possession with intent to distribute a Class A substance.
Barron's attorney, Elliot Weinstein, said, "Kevin is innocent. He's a good man. Someone took advantage of Kevin's standing as an attorney. Kevin did not knowingly commit any crime." But Weinstein wouldn't elaborate further on Barron's defense.
Barron was released on personal recognizance, but with a "bail warning" from the judge -- a warning that if he is arrested again he could be held without bail up to 60 days.
Judge Warren Powers also ordered Barron to stay away from the state prisons. But Weinstein said he would seek to have that order modified "because he's a good lawyer and how else can he effectively represent his clients if he can't meet with them?"
Barron's website describes him as a federal criminal defense lawyer who received his law degree in 1987 from Boston College Law School. His next court date is Nov. 20.
