By C1 Staff
MARION COUNTY, Ore. — A defense attorney has been banned from entering any Oregon prison after a handcuff key was found zipped into a pocket of his belt.
According to Oregon Live, John Kevin Hunt didn’t intend to smuggle the key into the Oregon State Prison when he went to see Dayton Leroy Rogers, but he is now the subject of a criminal investigation.
Oregon State Police searched Hunt’s home in July, and seized two sets of handcuffs, three handcuff keys, two handguns, two iPhones, marijuana and a “marijuana pipe.” They also seized a “green leafy substance” found around the home.
Hunt did not comment, but did offer a written apology and explanation. The key allegedly belongs to a set of leg restraints attached to the headboard of his bed, which were used during physical intimacy with women.
He had last used the restraints several months before the prison incident, and had misplaced the key. He later found it in his car and secured it in the zipper pocket of his belt.
“I failed to take the key out of my belt and forgot about it until it was too late,” Hunt wrote.
It’s unclear whether Hunt, one of three defense attorneys, will remain on Rogers’ defense team or if the incident will have an impact on Rogers’ resentencing trial.
Rogers, also known as the Molalla Forest Killer, was found guilty in 1988 and 1989 of killing seven prostitutes and dumping six of their bodies in the woods near Molalla. He’s been on and off death row ever since, as his attorneys file appeals.