He Directed His Son To Send Him Drug-Saturated Paper In Prison. Now, They Both Could Wind Up Behind Bars.

A Pittsburgh man who was already in prison has been convicted of another crime after instructing his son to mail him papers that were saturated with synthetic cannabinoid in envelopes disguised as "legal" mail.

The United States Attorney's Office in the western district of Pennsylvania announced the jury's decision to convict Omari Patton, 44, formerly of Pittsburgh on five counts related to attempting to provide to a federal inmate or obtain as a federal inmate a Schedule I synthetic cannabinoid controlled substance in federal prisons.

According to the attorney's office, in September and October of 2018, Patton, who was incarcerated at the Fort Dix, New Jersey federal prison, directed his son, Dashawn Burley, of Monroeville, Pennsylvania to mail three such envelopes to him at Fort Dix and two others to another federal inmate at the Ray Brook, New York federal prison.

All five envelopes, disguised to be from a fake attorney, contained what is referred to as "K2 paper" or "deuce," which law enforcement says can disrupt prison life and be harmful to inmates.

Burley pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to provide to a federal inmate a Schedule I synthetic cannabinoid controlled substance in federal prisons. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 8. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.

Never miss a story — sign up for the Front Page Detectives newsletter. Be on the scene the moment news breaks.

Patton, meanwhile, is scheduled to be sentenced June 15. He faces an additional up to 50 years in prison and a fine of up to $1,250,000.

Patton remains detained, and the court continued Burley's bond.