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December 12th, 2012

No One Wants to be a Prison Guard in Texas: Lack of Guards Means Moving Inmates and There’s Talk of Closing Down Some Texas Prisons – But That’s For a Different Reason

No matter what the state of the economy may be, doesn’t look like there are many people out there who are willing to take jobs as guards in Texas jails and prisons these days. No surprise, given what those jobs entail (read more about the heat, and the pay, and more here.)

However, things are getting more serious in the State of Texas as this shortage of guards means that facilities aren’t functioning at even minimum levels of acceptability – and the Powers that Be are now in the process of moving prisoners in guard-strapped prisons elsewhere.

Guard Shortages Mean Texas Prison Officials Are Moving Hundreds of Inmates to Other Jail Facilities Around the State

This month, prison officials are moving hundreds of people out of the Smith Unit in Lamesa, Texas, and the Ware Unit in Colorado City. Both facilities are located up in the hot, dry Texas panhandle and each of them has been operating with 50% guards needed (on a guard to inmate ratio).  Seems that they cannot find people willing to take jobs at these two prisons at the annual starting pay of $28,000 even with a standing offer of a $3000 sign-on bonus.

How many inmates are getting moved?

Smith Unit is relocating 200 men and Colorado City is moving out 400 inmates.  It’s not the first time that relocation has been done in a Texas prison because of the inability to find guards for the facility:  earlier this year, down in Kenedy, Texas, the Connally Unit relocated 696 inmates because of a guard shortage.

Closing Texas Jails: But Motivation Not For Prison Safety – It’s All About Location, Location, Location

Now, we learn that prison administrators are considering closing down Texas jails in their entirety in order to tighten the budgetary belt.  For those in Dallas, this may be big news because one of the facilities that is being discussed right now is closing the Dawson State Jail here in Dallas as well as the Mineral Wells Transfer Facility.  Seems their problem isn’t not enough guards, but not enough inmates.

Both of these are private jails, operated by the Corrections Corporation of America, and it’s not the first time that there’s been talk about shutting down the Dawson State Jail.  However, that wasn’t because of any jail budgetary considerations: back in 2008, the chatter was all about the primo location spot that Dawson State Jail offered to land developers.   There’s still lots of drooling down at City Hall and other places over what could be done on that Dawson State Jail tract.

Will Dallas see the Dawson State Jail and the Mineral Wells Facility shut down?

Maybe so: the union that represents Texas jail employees (like the prison guards) is all for it. And, there’s precedent:  just last year, Sugarland’s Central Unit was shut down despite operating since 1909 and having made a name for itself in the annals of Texas History as the jail sung about in the popular song “Midnight Special.”

Why was the Sugarland facility shut down?  Not enough guards? Nope.  Because the land was more valuable to be developed into other things. Which means that Dawson State Jail’s days are probably numbered given it’s primo location there on the Trinity River.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 11:48 am

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Labels: Crime News, Jail Watch, Orwellian Threats to Rights


November 14th, 2012

Suicides in Texas Jail Cells: Statewide Problem of Suicidal Inmates Dying While In Care and Custody of Texas County Jails

Jails all across Texas are having a real problem of inmates killing themselves.   Now, it appears that some of those suicides are forming the basis of wrongful death lawsuits brought by the grieving family members against the jail officials, the county responsible for the facility, and others who may share responsibility for the inmate’s death.   Bottom line:  it’s dangerous to go to jail in Texas.

Duty Placed on Jailers Under the Texas Administrative Code to Protect Suicidal Inmates From Themselves

Under the Texas Administrative Code (TAC), corrections facilities have a duty defined in Texas law to monitor those under their power and oversight, particularly those inmates that may suffer mental illness or possibly be considering suicide.  Here’s the exact language from Rule 275.1 of Chapter 275 in the Public Safety and Corrections Title of the TAC:

Every facility shall have the appropriate number of corrections officers at the facility 24 hours each day. Facilities shall have an established procedure for visual, face-to-face observation of all inmates by corrections officers at least once every hour. Observation shall be performed at least every 30 minutes in areas where inmates known to be assaultive, potentially suicidal, mentally ill, or who have demonstrated bizarre behavior are confined. There shall be a two-way voice communication capability between inmates and staff at all times. Closed circuit television may be used, but not in lieu of the required personal observation.

Texas Jails All Across the State Have Jail Inmates Committing Suicide While Behind Bars

Regardless of the duty that is placed upon Texas jails under the Texas law, people are killing themselves in their jail cells at an alarming rate – and it’s not just a problem in a single facility or locale.  Consider these sad realities – and these are just a few of the examples of this state-wide problem:

1.  Victoria County (Victoria area)

In April 2012, federal inmate Marcus Duprey Washington committed suicide by hanging; a little over a year before that, another Victoria jail inmate committed suicide by taking a string from his sweater to hang himself in his jail cell.  Washington was known to be bipolar and it was not known if Washington was on or off his needed medication at the time of his death.   According to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, the county jail was in compliance with all legal regulations at the time of Washington’s death. Victoria County Jail is taking steps and changing its procedures to try and prevent future suicides among its inmates, however.

2.  Llano County  (Austin area)

Shawn Appell committed suicide in his Llano County Jail cell on August 6, 2011, and the Texas Rangers investigated the death.  Appell was known to have psychological problems; these became known in an earlier circumstance when in August 2008, Mr. Appell faced allegations that he was stalking the local district attorney and a competency evaluation revealed that Appell was not able to stand trial on stalking charges due to his delusions. This month, his mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the jail administrator; the jail supervisor; and the Llano County Sheriff alleging that their neglect caused the death of her son, Shawn.

3.  Nueces County (Corpus Christi area)

Over two years ago, Nueces County Jail inmate Samuel Salazar committed suicide after clearly telling his jailers that he wanted to harm himself.  According to news reports, Salazar said things like “I want to kill myself” and “I want to kill myself with scissors,” and Salazar unsuccessfully tried to kill himself a few weeks prior to his death by hanging himself with a bed sheet.  Nueces County correction officers did put Salazar on suicide watch at times, but it wasn’t steady.  After a couple of weeks from the bed sheet incident, Salazar was taken off suicide watch and shortly after that, Salazar committed suicide in his jail cell by hanging himself using a mattress cover.

The family of Samuel Salazar has now filed a wrongful death suit against Nueces County officials.

4.  Bexar County (San Antonio area)

At the Bexar County Jail, two inmates have committed suicide in 2012 and in 2009, six Bexar County inmates killed themselves while incarcerated at the county jail that serves the San Antonio area. In 2010, a suicide prevention expert was hired to review Bexar County Jail practices and his suggestions have been implimented.  Cameras have been installed to monitor inmates; cordless phones have replaced corded ones; bunk beds are out.  Suicide watch inmates are watched 24/7 via cameras that monitor them in their own separate cells, and Bexar County corrections officers have been required to attend special classes on how to deal with mentally ill patients.

One point being made by Bexar County Judicial Services Director Mike Lozito: more and more mentally ill individuals are being routed to local jail facilities instead of mental health facilities.

5.  Other Texas County Jail Suicides

The Texas Jail Project keeps track of these cases, and reading through their web site you can learn of other cases where Texas jail inmates have killed themselves while under the care and control of a Texas correctional facility.  Montgomery County has seen two suicides in 2012; Gillespie County Jail; and the San Jacinto County Jail offer more examples

Posted by Michael Lowe at 11:20 am

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Labels: Jail Watch


October 10th, 2012

Another Texas Jail Scandal: Six Harris County Jail Employees Fired in Sex With Inmates Misconduct Charges

The disrepute of Texas Jails just got bigger since it’s becoming national news that over in Houston, six employees at the Harris County Jail have been fired from their jobs because of allegations of sexual misconduct and failure to take actions to stop the misconduct on the part of those that should have done so.

Story goes, according to Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, that there were jail workers who were having sex with female inmates in the jail laundry rooms. That this was happening isn’t big news now: back in February a Harris County Deputy Sheriff was fired and indicted after an investigation that began back in August 2011. During that investigation, another deputy sheriff quit and one of the supervisors being investigated took retirement.

What happened last Friday was that the investigation by the Office of the Inspector General was completed, and with Sheriff Garcia publicly denouncing what happened as “inexcusable” and “intolerable,” more people got axed. One supervisor and four detention officers were terminated last Friday.

The investigation began after a Harris County Jail inmate, Amber Guidry, stood up for those who are incarcerated in the Harris County Jail (and arguably, elsewhere) by telling people that a jailer named Tony Richards had sexually harassed her and groped her, as well, not just once but “constantly.” Guidry testified before a grand jury and Richards was the jailer who was fired last February as a result. (He’s now facing criminal charges.)

Oh, and the Sheriff is going to add some video cams into those jail laundry rooms. Not that anyone would ever want to have themselves videotaped while having sex, right? Well, maybe not if the Sheriff is gonna be watching….

Think on this:  according to the Houston Chronicle’s investigations, the Harris County Jail has had over 20 officers and civilians either suspended without pay or fired for having inappropriate relations or contact with inmates over the past five years (since 2007).  That averages out to catching someone doing this to a female inmate once every 90 days.

What’s inappropriate here?  Doing things like kissing, intimate touching, indecent exposure, providing contraband or engaging in sexual relations (as described in the Harris County records).  It is not known how many female inmates were victims of these sexual assaults and / or harassment because the number of victims has not been released by Harris County.  It is known that this all took place at the minimum security facility laundry room or the detention center laundry room at the Baker Street jails.

Just because you or a loved one must spend time behind bars here in a Texas Jail does not mean that you should not be given respect and treated with dignity – especially as a female who is incarcerated and powerless in a facility overseen by men carrying weapons and holding power.   This is against the law.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 10:24 am

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Labels: Jail Watch


August 22nd, 2012

Behind Bars in Texas: Heat Hot Enough to Kill You, Dangers Everywhere, and Maybe Some Pet Food on Your Tray: Texas Can’t Pay People Enough to Work In These Conditions

Here in Texas, if you are worried about being arrested or if you have been arrested, then boy howdy you better be advancing the best criminal defenses you can muster because you really, really (and we mean REALLY) don’t want to end up behind bars in a Texas jail or prison if there’s any way to avoid it.  And if you have to serve some time, then part of your negotiations better be into which facility you’re going to be placed.

Expect to Face Temperatures Over 100 Degrees If You Are Behind Bars in Texas – No A/C Provided

Why?  Well, we already wrote about the heat. It’s getting so hot in some Texas jail cells and prison units that people are becoming sick, even dying, from the high temperatures.  There’s a wrongful death suit on file (Larry McCullum’s family is suing because he passed away with a body temperature of 109 degrees in Hutchins County Jail last year) and more should follow.

Temperatures in Texas jails and prisons well over 100 degrees and inmates not getting the use of fans or air conditioning is one thing.  The heat alone is a horror story.  But that’s far from all that is going on in Texas right now.

You Never Know What You’ll Be Fed in a Texas Prison: Pet Food “Beef Trimmings” Served to Federal Inmates Last Year

This week, it was revealed that Texas inmates were served pet food – that’s right, food considered not fit for human consumption -  in a federal prison facility over in East Texas.  Seems that the food supplier had a mix-up in labeling boxes of “beef trimmings” which were supposed to be sold as pet food, and the “beef trimmings” ended up on the trays of prison inmates.  John Soules Foods is paying $392,000 in settlement of the claims against it by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Inmates Die Mysteriously in Texas Jails and Prisons

This week, guards discovered a man dead in his cell at the Bexar County Detention Center (the jail for San Antonio) and it’s still not clear why or how he died.   They’re doing an autopsy now to try and figure out what happened.

It’s not news that inmates die while behind bars:  here in Texas, there’s precedent for gang violence leading to inmate deaths as well as despondent inmates choosing suicide as a way to freedom.   Some may remember the controversy after Scot Noble Payne committed suicide in a Texas prison after writing letters to loved ones, saying goodbye and detailing the horrific conditions he had to endure:  standing water on the floor, unclean sheets/ towels, and more.   (Remember to add the heat here.)

Staff Shortages as No One Wants to Work In Texas Jails and Prisons

Conditions in Texas jails and prisons have reached a state of disgust that human beings not forced to be there will not choose to do so, even if you pay them.  The Texas Department of Justice can’t find enough people to work in prisons these days.  Conditions are bad and getting worse, according to those that are still working in the system, waiting on their retirement to kick in.

News reports are that there is a 40% turnover rate at some Texas facilities (Beeville, Beaumont, Kenedy, and Lamont are examples).

Which means that correctional officers (that’s the official job title) are now being offered a sign on bonus of $3000 just to take the job.  That’s right: the State of Texas is offering thousands of dollars to anyone who is willing to work in these places.  And, there’s close to 3000 openings – if you’re interested.

Bottom line:  anyone facing criminal charges in the State of Texas these days better have a great criminal defense in process as well as a good bail bondsman, because being behind bars in Texas right now is not the place that any human should be. Just ask any correctional officer who’s quit recently.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 12:42 pm

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Labels: Jail Watch, Orwellian Threats to Rights


June 27th, 2012

Texas Heat Horror: Inmates Dying From Heat in Texas Prisons and Jail Cells – No AC and No Water, No Fans … Unless They Buy Them

Texas weather is breaking records with the June 2012 heat wave; temperatures are reaching well over 100 degrees in most of the state.  The increase in electrical power usage is spiking, too, as air conditioning usage increases: there’s talk of Texas having to implement brown-outs to conserve power if this keeps up.

Right now, those brown outs are not a concern of the Texas prison system: Texas prisons don’t have air conditioning.  And that’s a big, big problem in this state because it’s killing people in a really horrible way.

Wrongful Death Suit Filed On Behalf of Man Who Died From Heat Stroke in Hutchins County Jail

Larry Gene McCollum, 58, died last July from injuries his body sustained after being forced to stay in the Hutchins County Jail without air conditioning during the sweltering Texas heat.   According to the news reports, McCollum had a body temperature of 109 degrees by the time they got him to the hospital.  Because of some procedural rigamarole, McCollum had no fan to help with the heat there at the Hutchins County Jail and he had no cup to use to drink water. (He was serving a short term for forgery.)

That’s right: the prisoners in Texas jails don’t get a cup to use to drink water.  They have to buy their own cups.  Same thing for the fans. Not provided by the State of Texas. Since McCollum didn’t have his proper identification issued to him yet, he had to set there in the extreme heat and just deal with it.

Mr. McCollum lasted three days.  Then he passed out from the heat, and died at the hospital six days later.  The autopsy shows living in the extreme heat is the cause of this man’s death.

The Texas Civil Rights Project has filed a wrongful death suit this week based upon this case.

Other Men Have Died From Heat Exposure in Texas Jails and Prisons: It’s a Big Problem Here

The news media have begun investigating what is going on here in Texas, and the New York Times is reporting that not long after Mr. McCollum passed away, three more men died from heat exposure (hyperthermia, heat stroke) in the following three week period.  One of these heat victims, an inmate also found passed out in his cell (this one over in Palestine’s prison), had a  body temperature of 108 degrees at the hospital … this was his body temperature at three o’clock in the morning. Think about that: isn’t that early morning usually the coolest part of the summer day?

Federal Case Already Before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

The same organization that has just filed a lawsuit on behalf of Larry Gene McCullom has just finished oral arguments before the federal appellate court over in New Orleans on its 2008 lawsuit that was filed against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on behalf of Texan Eugene Blackmon.

That federal court will be deciding issues of heat in Texas jails and prisons soon, as Mr. Blackmon has sued for heat exposure during his three year stint down in Beeville’s Texas prison facility.  Blackmon did not die, luckily, but he alleged that the temperature in his prison cell reached 130 degrees in the summertime and that he suffered ailments because of this.

130 degrees… body temperature at 109 degrees.

It’s true that electricity costs money and there are lots of folk that don’t want to pay for inmates to get AC.  However, people are dying here and while Texas has a death penalty, it’s not just to have these men and women suffering in this way.

Remember that McCollum had nothing to drink water from and no fan to even more the air around him.

Surely there’s a way to get containers so these people can drink some water on a hot day?  If nothing more????

Posted by Michael Lowe at 1:16 pm

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Labels: Jail Watch, Orwellian Threats to Rights


March 21st, 2012

Texas Jails Recording Attorney – Client Communications: Defense Bar’s Assumptions About Jail Privacy Proven True With Houston and Galveston Jail Revelations

Here in Texas, just like the rest of the country, it’s assumed by most people that communications between lawyers and clients are protected – they’re top secret stuff, safe from anyone else because of the U.S. Constitution.  Right? That’s what you see on all the TV shows, isn’t it … defense lawyers and inmates talking about the defense case, safe from anyone’s prying eyes or ears?

Well, surprise.  If you are arrested and in a Texas jail then you better not assume that your chats with your attorney are protected.  Because they’re not.

Most criminal defense attorneys here in the Lone Star State don’t trust the confidentiality of Texas jail communications with their clients. (Just read some of our posts about Texas jailers and Texas prosecutors to learn why.)  However, it’s interesting to see that defense counsel are becoming publicly vindicated in their distrust.

Galveston Jail:  Changing Things to Stop Recordings of Lawyer – Client Conversations

How?  Seems that over in Galveston, they’ve been routinely recording conversations between people being held in their jail and their lawyers for many, many years.   No one bothered to tell the inmates or their attorneys, of course.  However, recently the Galveston County Sheriff’s Department instituted a new jail policy to stop it.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Galveston County Sheriff Freddie Poor has explained that a Galveston County District Judge complained about things, and now the Sheriff’s Department is doing things differently.  They’ve put all the criminal defense bar’s phone numbers into their computer and now, the recording devices in the jail automatically stop when that number is involved in an inmate’s phone call.

Houston Still Recording Attorney-Client Communications and Admits It

And Galveston isn’t a fluke.  In his story, investigative reporter Harvey Rice includes a quote from Harris County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Alan Bernstein that confirms the Harris County Jail in Houston also records conversations between attorneys and clients, right along with everyone else, and that’s still going on.

Though the story reports that Houston is trying to change this.  (Of course they are.)

Privacy Problems and More Here, and No Solution In Sight

When someone is arrested in this country, that does not mean that they did anything wrong.  Innocent until proven guilty is a cornerstone of our system of justice.  And if you are wondering if innocent people get arrested by police, just ask anyone at your local chapter of The Innocence Project.

Jails don’t consider this, however.  Anyone arrested should know that they will have less rights under the law until they are cleared of the charges.  After all, their privacy has already been taken from them, along with their freedom of movement.

Still, every inmate should be able to freely confer with his counsel.  Jailers should presume these people are innocent and respect their rights, especially their right to talk freely with their lawyer.  That right should not be altered by arrest or incarceration.  Nevertheless, most Texas criminal defense attorneys don’t trust jail communications in the first place – we know who we’re dealing with, jailers and prosecutors can be sneaky.  We understand that the reality is that in jails, inmates are simply presumed to be guilty by their jailers.

Which means that our communications must be carefully handled.  We have to get the job done with one arm tied behind our backs, because we must operate under the assumption that the prosecution is hearing everything that is being said.  It would be foolish to do otherwise.

(If you think this sounds paranoid, then think again.  As an example, read this ABA Journal story about a Tennessee case where this happened, or read more of the Houston Chronicle expose to learn about the Baby Grace case.)

Posted by Michael Lowe at 12:15 pm

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Labels: DA Watch, Jail Watch, Orwellian Threats to Rights


February 22nd, 2012

Fort Worth Police Have Second Man Die in Their Custody In Six Weeks: Death After Custody Continuing Problem Here in Texas

On January 15, 2012, Daniel Guerra died while in the custody and control of the Fort Worth Police Department.  He was 24 years old.  On February 14, 2012, Larry Sternberg, 45 years old, also died while in the custody and control of the Fort Worth Police Department.

Two men dying within one month’s time?  Maybe someone needs to be checking into how things are being handled over in Tarrant County.

Daniel Guerra, High on Meth, Died After Stun Gun Zap

Daniel Guerra already has a finding from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner:  even though he was zapped by a Forth Worth police officer’s Taser, and it’s recognized around the world that stun guns kill people, the medical examiner is ruling that Guerra died from “methamphetamine intoxication due to incautious consumption of a toxic drug.”

Guerra’s path crossed that of the Forth Worth Police Department on January 13, 2012, when he tried to race a patrol car on US 287 and lost the car chase. Seems there were Fort Worth police officers checking out a Fort Worth hotel with a reputation for illegal drug deals,  and when they ran the license plates on Guerra’s ride and determined that it had an expired registration, they hit their bright lights to pull Guerra over.

Guerra opted to drive fast and try to get away from the officers, zipping along in his Cadillac, but he was foiled in his getaway on US 287 after the police threw spike strips over the lanes.  Guerra wasn’t done yet — according to police, shots were fired from the Cadillac and there was a struggle after Guerra was out of the car, resulting in the police using a Taser as they took Guerra into police custody.

According to police reports, Guerra collapsed there in the patrol car and while the officers did perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), Guerra could not be revived.  A female passenger in the Cadillac allegedly told the police that Guerra had taken a big amount of meth during their car chase.

Larry Sternberg Died From Beating Injuries

Larry Sternberg died six weeks after he sustained injuries from being beaten and severely kicked while in the Fort Worth drunk tank downtown.   Sternberg apparently fought hard for over a month before he succumbed to his injuries.

Last month, Sternberg was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital after law enforcement officials discovered the scene, Sternberg bloody and unconscious, and he remained there until his death.  Sternberg had been busted on a public intoxication charge and the media is reporting that JPS Hospital employees, according to police reports, say the man suffered FOUR kicks to the face after he was unconscious – which caused bone fractures and internal bleeding.

Death and Injury of Citizens After Being Taken Into Custody a Continuing Problem in the State of Texas

Before anyone starts dismissing these two incidents involving the same police department within 30 days of each other, consider the following prior cases of folk dying or being injured after being taken into police custody in this state that we have been monitoring here, including:

These are just posts of events that have happened where people died or were injured while in custody in local jails around the State of Texas in the past few months.  It’s looking like there’s a new story on someone being injured or killed while in the custody of Texas law enforcement each and every month.  That’s serious.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 8:59 am

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Labels: Cop Watch, Jail Watch


November 22nd, 2011

Investigations in Texas Jails This Week: Prisoners Released, Inmate Dies

Texas jails aren’t making the news as much as Texas prosecutors are these days (just check back over our last few posts) but apparently, it’s not for want of trying.  Texas jails are making national headlines for bad things, and it will be interesting to see what happens other than a slip-under-the-rug “mistakes were made” response.  Consider this:

Two New Texas Jails Investigations This Week

In Houston, Robert Gomez was arrested and jailed in Houston’s central jail on Riesner Street last Saturday night on a charge of public intoxication and sadly, took his own life by using his tee shirt as a means of hanging himself in his jail cell.  Gomez was allegedly “combative” with the cops on the ride downtown, so when he got there, the jailers put him in an individual cell.

Gomez had been checked out by jail medical staff before being put into his cell, and according to witnesses (which included prisoners in neighboring cells) Mr. Gomez tied his tee-shirts together and hung himself from the bars of his cell.

Right now, an autopsy has been ordered and the incident is being investigated by both the Homicide and Internal Affairs Divisions of the Houston Police Department.

Meanwhile, over in San Antonio, jailers gave Rene Palomo a “get out of jail free” card this week, after he had been sitting in the Bexar County Jail since March 2011, facing burglary and robbery charges.  Last Friday, Palomo was sentenced – he got 6 years on the burglary, and the robbery charge was dropped.  After being sentenced over at the courthouse, Palomo returned to the jail and within hours, he was given his walking papers.

By Friday night, Mr. Palomo was free.  No news as to when and how the jailers figured out that Mr. Palomo had been sentenced to six years incarceration, but someone did. Saturday afternoon, the cops pulled up to Palomo’s home there in San Antonio, and took him back to jail.   An investigation has begun into how Palomo got released by the Bexar County Jail.

Oh, and Texas prosecutors this week? Indictment Deadline Missed, Murder Suspect Must Be Freed

Well, over in Fort Bend County,  the District Attorney’s Office did not get an indictment by the ninety (90) day deadline set under Texas law in a case where a teenaged boy was murdered.  The suspect was arrested, name of Richard Mendoza, and he went to jail.  However, he had to be released because the deadline was missed. By the prosecutor.

Seems that the murder was unsolved until August of this year, when the victim’s bones were found in a field and DNA testing was performed.  As a result of the DNA testing, Mendoza was arrested and jailed.  Now, as a result of the prosecutor missing a basic deadline, Mendoza has been released.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 2:50 pm

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Labels: Crime News, DA Watch, Jail Watch


July 27th, 2011

Texas Jail Guard Convicted of Sneaking Hacksaw Blade to Inmate Inside Taco, Makes News Worldwide

A San Antonio jail guard named Alfred Casas, three years on the job, took his chances with a jury this week and ended up convicted yesterday of (1) two counts of bribery, and (2) one count of providing an inmate with escape elements. Each bribery count is a felony carrying a possible 2 to 20 years in prison. For providing an inmate with “escape implements,” the guard faces 2 to 10 years. The jury will be deliberating sentencing today.

Soft Taco Smuggling of a Hacksaw Blade

So what happened to let this 31-year-old jail guard go from guarding inmates to becoming an inmate? He smuggled a hacksaw blade into an inmate at the Bexar County Detention Center inside a soft taco.

That’s right: a blade inside a taco instead of the proverbial blade inside a cake.

Seems that the jail guard had a back pain problem and wasn’t able to get enough pain pills to deal with it, so he made a deal with the inmate to exchange Xanax pills for stuff – like the saw blades. The inmate’s girlfriend testified that she met the guard in the jail parking lot and handed over the tacos, telling him that the blades were hidden inside the food. She would also be the one who would provide the Xanax medication to the guard as his payment for bringing the tacos to the inmate.

Makes National and International News – More Help for Texas’ Reputation

Maybe it was the taco part of the story that did it, maybe it was the hacksaw…but this story has made not only the national news coverage, it has gone global. (Read Great Britain’s Daily Mail story about the verdict here.)

Newspapers around the world are reporting to their readers all about the Texas jail guard who was busted for a taco – more good media coverage for our fair state.

Posted by Michael Lowe at 4:42 pm

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Labels: Crime News, Jail Watch


December 9th, 2009

Jail Watch: Criminal Network In Texas Dept of Criminal Justice System? Texas Rangers Investigate

Right now, one of the biggest news stories we’ve had in years may be breaking – if convicted rapist Arcade Joseph Comeaux is telling the truth.  Considering who’s giving his words some weight, looks like he just might be.

Huntsville Inmate Arcade Joseph Comeaux Escaped Last Week

Last week, Comeaux escaped as he was being transported by bus from the Huntsville prison to Beaumont, where he would be near to medical treatment facilities in Galveston for his purported stroke that had left him paralyzed. Comeaux – despite being handcuffed and shackled to his wheelchair – pulled a pistol on the two guards accompanying him, and after firing a warning shot, successfully ordered the two guards to handcuff themselves together, in the back of the bus.  Comeaux took their guns (he now had three), dressed himself in one of their uniforms, and walked away.  That’s right – walked.  He’d been conning everyone that he couldn’t use his legs, apparently pretty convincingly. 

National Media Coverage of The Big Bus Escape

Combine a record like Comeaux’s and the circumstances of his escape, and sure ’nuff you’ve got the national media hounds pouring into the state.  CNN detailed Comeaux’s 30 year prison record.  America’s Most Wanted acted fast, with Comeaux being a focus of their December 5th episode — six days after his escape.  Lots of questions were being asked about how this guy could free himself from the clutches of the Texas Department of Corrections. 

Comeaux got caught and now he’s squealing.

Freedom didn’t last long for Arcade Comeaux.  He was caught within two weeks of running – a salesman called in a tip to 911 about a strange man loitering in the lobby of a Houston business.  The Houston cops responded, and Comeaux was arrested and taken into custody without incident. 

According to media reports Comeaux was cold, wet, tired, hungry — and barefoot.  There were reports he was still wearing the duds he’d taken from the bus guard when he walked away on November 30th.  Even the New York Times reported on the capture.

After Capture, Comeaux Starts An Even Bigger NewsStory – He Had Help From the Inside

Lots of folk probably thought that the story ended in Houston when the manhunt was over.  Sounds reasonable, right?  But noooo.  Arcade had just began earning his plug (with a tip of the hat to Jay Leno). 

Comeaux met with a local community activist, Quanell X at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and here’s where the Big Story begins. According to Arcade Comeaux, staff of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice got the gun to him that he used on the bus.  (Someone on the inside sold it to him, but the price hasn’t been reported.)  They helped Comeaux hide it there in his Huntsville cell until he got an opportunity to use it.  And, once he was on the lam, he got help from a criminal network connected to the prison system – staying in safehouses and the like. 

Comeaux told the activist that he was part of a group planning a larger escape, but he got antsy and decided to make a break for it himself.  (Riding that bus and getting nearer to a hospital team that might blow the whistle on his fake paralysis might have been a factor — but that hasn’t been substantiated.)

Oh, and Comeaux gave Quanell X names of those who helped him — identifying members of this Secret Network inside the TDCJ. 

Texas Department of Criminal Justice Responds – Comeaux Just Pulling Another Con

At the get-go, the  TDCJ Inspector General John Moriarty has stepped up to the plate and said that while all of this will be investigated,  it is his opinion that Comeaux is a liar.  Moriarty points to how he was wearing the same clothes for eight days as belaying the existence of any criminal network. 

But that doesn’t explain the gun that an inmate had on a prison bus.  It doesn’t explain how he faked being handicapped for all that time while in lock up, either. 

Enter the Texas Rangers, the Texas Legislature, and the Lt. Governor

This week, two Texas Rangers met with Arcade Comeaux.  So did State Senator John Whitmire (D-Houston), chairman of the Texas Senate’s Criminal Justice Committee.  

Senator Whitmire should be pretty interested in a full investigation of prison smuggling — as you’ll recall, it was State Senator John Whitmire who was threatened last year by a Texas Death Row inmate who was using a smuggled cellphone. 

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has formally requested that Whitmire’s committee hold hearings investigating how various items of contraband (including Arcade’s gun) get smuggled into these lock-down facilities.  Dewhurst has also requested legislative investigation into how Comeaux could con so many law enforcement officials that he was an invalid, needing a wheelchair.  (This is especially interesting since Dewhurst already has two year old video from the prison showing Comeaux could walk.)

Let’s all watch this story and see what happens.  Looks like this is just beginning and who knows how big this story may get ….

Posted by Michael Lowe at 6:33 pm

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Labels: Corrupt Cops, Crime News, Jail Watch, Uncategorized


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