Ex-Ballard Spahr Lawyer Accused of Trying to Bring Drugs into Jail
A Philadelphia lawyer who once worked at Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll has been accused of trying to smuggle drugs into jail for a client.
Randall Sommovilla was arrested Friday night, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Court documents say a prison guard found a package of heroin near Sommovilla’s feet after getting a positive result while scanning him for controlled substances, according to the story. The documents also said a search of Sommovilla’s car produced cocaine and three glass pipes.
He was charged with possession of contraband and drugs, the story says.
Sommovilla allegedly told police that a woman named Brittany had probably placed the drugs in his clothing in the hopes that his client, Amber Knox, would persuade him to turn them over. He said Knox had earlier told him she was sick and needed drugs.
He also reportedly told police that some women he had met about three months ago had introduced him to drugs, according to court documents cited by the Inquirer.
A Ballard Spahr spokeswoman told the Am Law Daily that Sommovilla had been an of counsel litigator with the firm, but he left in mid-2007.
