DRC Net dishes Texas drug war corruption, with a side helping of Grits

I've mentioned approvingly how the weekly Drug War Chronicle performs the mitzvah of cataloguing stories of drug-war-related law enforcement corruption across the country. I might turn supplementing their Texas stories into a regular feature. They always seem to have some Texas cases, and there always seem to be a few more lying around Grits' cutting room floor that together add up to a real post.

Most officers never engage in severe misconduct or corruption, but when they do it's a serious breach of public trust. Gathering anecdotes on the blog has been a useful tool for me to identify recurring problems with drug task forces and snitching. Over time patterns arise - like incidents where officers steal confidential informant payments - that you don't always see looking at official reports from open records requests. Similarly, watching DRC Net's compilation every week, the same types of episodes crop up again and again.

This week's installment mentions two Texas cases - one an undercover narc stealing from the confidential informant fund, the other two Border Patrol agents who tried to cover up after shooting a drug dealer in the ass. Reported DRC Net:

In Gatesville, Texas, a Coryell County Sheriff's Deputy who serves as an undercover investigator was placed on paid leave February 22 after being accused of stealing money intended for use in drug buys by the Narcotics Division, KCEN-TV reported. Senior Deputy Gary Medford, a 21-year veteran, is being investigated by the Texas Rangers. Although the investigation began early last month, it was not made public until last week.

In the other Texas case, the story was not about cash-or-drug related corruption but the deeply entrenched blue wall of silence, or whatever that ugly, greenish color would be for the Border Patrol:

In El Paso, Texas, two Border Patrol agents who shot a fleeing drug courier in the buttocks were found guilty March 9 of assault, weapons crimes, tampering with evidence, and deprivation of civil rights. Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean face at least 10 years in federal prison for shooting Osvaldo Andrade Davila, a Mexican citizen, as he fled back across the border when they interrupted his effort to carry a package of drugs into the US. Ramos and Compean also conspired to cover up the shooting by removing spent shell casings from the scene. The pair turned down a plea bargain for 18-month sentences. They have been suspended with pay since the February 2005 incident, and Border Patrol officials said they will now consider firing them.

It's really a great service for the Drug War Chronicle to keep track of these anecdotal examples. Last week DRCNet covered the Troup, TX police department's closure for alleged distribution of dope from the evidence locker.

But they missed a couple of other recent Texas cases. (Who can keep up with them all? I missed the ones they wrote about.) For example, prison guard Curtis Hinson from the Stiles unit in Beaumont was caught near the border last month after a brief highway chase with 21 pounds of marijuana stuffed into the spare tire of his truck. He claims he was set up.

And here's a doozy: In Odessa, Texas, guards at the Ector county jail were allegedly dealing drugs to their obviously captive audience. A local TV-news station reported that:

Three jailers have been arrested and are accused of selling drugs and other contraband to inmates in an Odessa detention center.

Six witnesses, including inmates, assisted authorities in a sting that led to the February arrests of 32-year-old Anthony Moya, 31-year-old Fernando Nieto and 30-year-old David G. Anaya.

Ector County Sheriff Mark Donaldson fired the three after the arrests.

The former Ector County Detention Center jailers are accused of taking contraband to inmates -- including cocaine, marijuana, tobacco and a cell phone.

Prosecutors say in return, the jailers received money and weapons from people the inmates knew outside the jail.

Jailers vending coke, pot, cigarettes and cell phones to inmates - that's what qualifies as room service in the county jail, I guess. I'm reminded of a Grits commenter who once queried, if we can't keep drugs out of prisons and jails, what makes anyone think we can keep them out of schools? It's a good question.

Anyway, that's DRC Net's account of drug war corruption in Texas for the week, with a helping of Grits on the side.