By Louis Hansen
The Virginian-Pilot
NORFOLK, Va. — Rolland Doyle wanted to look and feel his best for his murder trial.
Doyle asked a friend to prepare his clothes and give them to his attorney for a July 12 jury trial, according to court records.
He also convinced her to smuggle ecstasy and marijuana inside his dress shoes, court records state. But Norfolk s heriff’s deputies caught on to the plan.
On Tuesday, Doyle pleaded guilty to three felony charges and a misdemeanor for trying to smuggle and distribute drugs into the jail. A circuit court judge accepted the plea and noted that Doyle could face 61 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Doyle will be sentenced in May.
Doyle, 33, faces trial later this year for first-degree murder and a weapons charge in the May 2009 death of Travis Matos.
According to a court file, Doyle’s friend brought the clothes and shoes to his lawyer’s office. The lawyer brought the clothes to court, not knowing they contained contraband.
Members of the sheriff’s department learned about the plan and searched the clothes before Doyle could try them on. Deputies found a half-ounce of marijuana and several tablets of ecstasy wrapped inside two condoms, court records state.
The friend does not face charges.
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