NEW BOSTON, Texas-A Bowie County jury returned a guilty verdict in less than 10 minutes for a Texas prison inmate who doused a female correctional officer with human waste at the Barry Telford Unit last year.
This morning the jury will hear testimony concerning the punishment Alonzo Gilbert Guerrero Jr., 25, should receive for his conduct. Guerrero was housed in building 12's administrative segregation wing when Officer Rebecca Smith looked into cell 77 as part of a routine security check the morning of July 20.
"It soaked me from head to toe. You smelled it instantly. It was like he had been saving the stuff for days," Smith testified under questioning from Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp. "I don't really know how to describe to you what it's like when someone does something like this to you. It kind of took away my dignity."
The protective eye wear officers are issued was coated with liquified feces, which covered Smith's hair, streaked her face, stained her shirt and soiled her thrust vest. In a video played for the jury Wednesday, Smith appears to stagger after the foul substance shoots from one of the long horizontal windows in Guerrero's cell as if under pressure and squeezed from a bottle.
Smith said a sergeant who happened to be walking down the same hallway escorted her to a nurse's station as she had difficulty seeing where she walked. Sgt. Kirk Brigance testified that Smith's face reminded him of old photos of coal miners after she removed her eye wear.
"You could see stuff dripping off of her and when she got close to me you could smell it. It was pretty vile," Brigance said. "You could smell it in the unit for the rest of the day."
Smith said the nurses helped her wash some of the offensive substance from her hair. Her uniform shirt was collected by Texas Department of Criminal Justice Office of Inspector General Investigator Michael Horn as evidence. A nurse drew Smith's blood for disease testing and Smith must have her blood periodically tested for a year to screen for any communicable disease to which she may have been exposed.
Smith said that when she left the prison to go home and shower, she took her pants, socks and shoes off in the parking lot and placed them in a bag so as not to ruin her car's upholstery. Smith said she remained on leave for a month and contemplated quitting her job.
Horn testified that he sent Smith's shirt to the Texas Department of State Health Services for testing. Under questioning from Assistant District Attorney Lauren Richards, chemist Mark Duncan testified that the shirt was stained with feces.
Telford Warden Garth Parker testified that it is the inmate who determines whether they will live in a prison's general population or in an administrative segregation cell.
"By their actions," Parker said when asked how an inmate's custody status is decided.
Under questioning from Texarkana defense lawyer Jeff Harrelson, Parker testified that inmates in administrative segregation are typically locked down in their cells for 23 hours per day and allowed one hour of recreation by themselves. Meals are served through a slot in the cell door and their hands are restrained when not in a cell or a recreation area.
Inmates in general population eat communally and are free to leave their cells without restraints during certain times. They may attend classes and enjoy group recreation, Parker testified.
Parker said Telford houses about 3,000 offenders and employs approximately 700 people, of whom more than 500 are correctional officers.
The jury was instructed by 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart to return to court this morning to hear testimony concerning the punishment Guerrero should receive. Harassment by a person in a correctional facility is listed as an assaultive offense under Texas law and is typically punishable by two to 10 years in prison.
Guerrero, however, is facing an increased punishment range of 25 to 99 years or life in prison because of prior convictions. The state is expected to call witnesses during the punishment phase to testify about Guerrero's prior criminal conduct and his behavior while an inmate in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
He is currently serving a four-year term for arson assessed him as part of a plea bargain in Victoria County, Texas, in 2016, for setting fire to the jail in July of that year. Guerrero was angry at being served a cold sandwich instead of a hot meal while being held on a domestic violence charge in Victoria County, according to earlier reports by the Victoria Advocate.
A verdict could come today.