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Former Smith County jailer, inmates indicted for organized crime, prohibited substance charges

Former jailer Lance Watson, 59, of Tyler, was indicted June 9 on both engaging in organized crime charges and prohibited substance in a correctional facility.

SMITH COUNTY, Texas — A former Smith County jailer, who is accused of smuggling chewing tobacco, a phone and tools to Smith County Jail inmates, has been indicted along with several inmates on charges of engaging in organized crime and prohibited substance in a correctional facility.

Former jailer Lance Watson, 59, of Tyler, was indicted June 9 on both engaging in organized crime charges and prohibited substance in a correctional facility.

Watson was originally arrested for having a prohibited substance within a correctional facility on March 5 after an investigation showed he delivered cans of tobacco sandwiched between the buns of fast food hamburgers in his lunch box, according to the sheriff’s office.

Read more from CBS19's newspaper partner, the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

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