Inmate accused of throwing excrement on a Telford guard

Telford Unit inmate Alonzo Gilbert Guerrero Jr. appears Friday, March 2, 2018 for arraignment at the Bowie County Courthouse in New Boston, Texas. Guerrero is accused of flinging human waste at a guard.
Telford Unit inmate Alonzo Gilbert Guerrero Jr. appears Friday, March 2, 2018 for arraignment at the Bowie County Courthouse in New Boston, Texas. Guerrero is accused of flinging human waste at a guard.

NEW BOSTON, Texas-A Texas prison inmate facing more time behind bars for allegedly throwing his waste on a female correctional officer was vocal at a court hearing Friday in Bowie County.

"It don't matter no more man, it don't matter," said Alonzo Gilbert Guerrero Jr. as the hearing wound to a close. "You give me this time or whatever you're going to do."

Guerrero spoke as Texas Department of Criminal Justice officers escorted him from the courtroom, describing the court with profanity.

Guerrero, 25, is serving a four-year term for arson at the Barry Telford Unit in New Boston.

According to earlier reports by the Victoria Advocated based in Victoria, Texas, Guerrero set fire to the Victoria County jail July 14, 2016, because he was served a cold sandwich instead of a hot meal.

Guerrero has been indicted by a Bowie County grand jury for allegedly dousing Correctional Officer Rebecca Smith with feces as she passed by his cell July 20, according to court documents used to create the following account. This type of assaultive behavior is commonly referred to as "chunking" by prison insiders.

The substance allegedly struck Smith in the face, hair and upper body. Smith's uniform shirt was collected as evidence and was found to be stained with fecal matter following an analysis by Texas Department of State Health Services.

The offense is typically punishable by two to 10 years in prison. Guerrero faces an enhanced punishment range of five to 99 years or life because of prior convictions.

At a pretrial hearing Friday morning before 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart at the Bowie County courthouse in New Boston, Guerrero's court appointed defense lawyer, Jeff Harrelson of Texarkana, addressed two motions he recently filed in the case.

Harrelson filed a motion to quash the indictment against Guerrero. The motion complains that Guerrero is being targeted for prosecution, perhaps because of his Latin heritage, and that the case against him was brought in bad faith.

"Defendant asserts that numerous other inmates have engaged in the same conduct at the Barry Telford Unit, but have not been prosecuted in the District Courts of Bowie County," the motion states. "Defendant asserts that he has been 'singled out' for prosecution, where others similarly situated have not been, because of some unconstitutional reason, whether it be his race or otherwise."

Lockhart commented that during his tenure as Bowie County's longest serving District Attorney, his office prosecuted other inmates accused of flinging waste on their keepers. Harrelson said that he has also filed a motion seeking definitive numbers from Telford concerning the number of inmates who've engaged in the conduct Guerrero allegedly did who have actually been prosecuted.

Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp said she is unaware if Telford or TDCJ can provide that data but agreed to investigate. Lockhart said he believes the DA's office should be able to provide a list of cases like Guerrero's which have been indicted in Bowie County.

Crisp has filed a notice in the case which lists the "extraneous offense" evidence she intends to introduce at Guerrero's trial next month. Guerrero's prior convictions include the Victoria County arson, a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction, two burglary convictions in separate Texas counties and two misdemeanor marijuana possessions.

Crisp's notice also includes a long list of Guerrero's alleged disciplinary infractions while a TDCJ inmate. The allegations include multiple instances of the following: being in an area of the prison he wasn't supposed to be, refusing to obey orders, masturbating in front of prison staff, throwing urine and/or feces on staff, threatening to harm staff and threatening to sodomize a female officer.

Harrelson told Lockhart at Friday's hearing that Guerrero is interested in negotiating a plea bargain. Crisp said the state is exercising its right to a jury trial. Guerrero's case is scheduled for jury selection April 11.

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