Affidavit: Correctional officer at Diboll prison smuggled K-2 in to inmates for cash
ANGELINA COUNTY, TX (KTRE) - An investigator with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Office of the Inspector General arrested a correctional officer at the Diboll Correctional Center on Feb. 14 in connection to allegations that he smuggled synthetic marijuana in to at least two inmates in exchange for money.
Jacob Torres, 20, of Lufkin, was booked into the Angelina County jail on a felony bribery charge on Feb. 14. He was released from the jail later that day after he posted a bail amount of $10,000.
"Torres, a correctional officer at the Diboll Correctional Center, was arrested today by the Office of Inspector General - TDCJ after an investigation revealed he brought contraband into the facility for payment," Jason Clark, a spokesman for TDCJ, said on Feb .14.
Clark said the arrest came after an investigation by the TDCJ's Office of the Inspector General.
According to the arrest affidavit East Texas News obtained Thursday, the OIG investigator interviewed an inmate at the prison that said that Torres brought synthetic marijuana, or K-2, to him on Jan. 12. The inmate allegedly told the inspector he and Torres did not have an agreed-upon price, but he would sell the K-2 and pay Torres out of the money he got from selling it.
The inmate told the OIG investigator that he got a PayPal confirmation from another inmate and gave it to Torres, the affidavit stated.
In addition, the inmate told the OIG investigator that Torres also smuggled K-2 to another inmate at the prison before he started bringing the synthetic marijuana to him in December of 2016, the affidavit stated.
On Jan. 27, the investigator went over to the second inmate's visitation list and learned that the inmate had received a visit from a female friend who lives in Corpus Christi on Dec. 18, 2016. Investigating further, he listened to the recording of a call between the inmate and the woman on that day.
During the call, the woman told the inmate she went to several stores look for an ATM to get money, the affidavit stated. The woman allegedly told the inmate that his "dirty friend" had been "blowing her phone up" and she made arrangements to meet him at the Taco Bell in the Walmart parking lot and described the man and the car he was driving.
According to the affidavit, the woman called the inmate back a short time later and told him the man she had met "had his girl and kid with him in the car and the wife said thank you after receiving the money."
When the OIG investigator talked to Torres on Feb. 2, Torres confirmed that he drives a white Kia that matches the description of the one the woman talked about in the phone call.
On Feb. 13, the investigator confirmed through PayPal that Torres had submitted a payment requests, including another woman on the inmate's visitation list. The affidavit stated Torres also received PayPal My Cash payments.
A day later, Torres told the OIG investigator that he made an agreement with the inmate in question to bring K-2 into the prison for money. He allegedly told the investigator that he smuggled the K-2 into the facility by putting a sandwich bag with the drug in it under his clothes.
Torres also told the investigator that he met the inmate's friend at a Taco Bell, and she paid him cash, the affidavit stated. Then a few days later, he brought the K-2 in to the inmate, the affidavit stated.
During the interview, Torres also said he brought another sandwich bag in later and gave it to another offender, but he couldn't remember the inmate's name, the affidavit stated. Torres allegedly admitted to receiving PayPal confirmation numbers as payment for bringing the K-2 inside the unit.
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