Inmate accused of flinging waste at prison guard

NEW BOSTON, Texas—A Texas prison inmate accused of dousing a female correctional officer with human waste is facing more time in prison.

Alonzo Gilbert Guerrero Jr., 25, is currently serving a four-year term for arson at the Barry Telford Unit in New Boston. According to earlier reports by the Victoria (Texas) Advocate, Guerrero set fire to the Victoria County jail July 14, 2016, because he was served a cold sandwich instead of a hot meal.

Guerrero, who was in the Victoria County jail for domestic violence when he set the fire, pleaded guilty

in October 2016 before a judge in Victoria County. His maximum sentence date is July 15, 2020, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website. But that could change if Guerrero is found guilty of misconduct at Telford.

Guerrero is accused of hurling feces at Correctional Officer Rebecca Smith as she passed by Guerrero’s cell July 20 in building 12, according to court documents used to create the following account. 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.

Guerrero appeared Friday morning for arraignment at the Bowie County courthouse in New Boston before 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart. Lockhart explained to Guerrero that the Bowie County District Attorney’s Office is seeking to enhance the punishment range against Guerrero to include a minimum 25-year prison term.

Harrassment by a person in a correctional facility is typically punishable by two to 10 years. Guerrero’s prior convictions for arson in Victoria County, and 2012 convictions for burglary of a habitation in Victoria County and Refugio County, mean the state can seek to treat Guerrero as an habitual offender with an enhanced punishment range of 25 to 99 years or life in prison.

Lockhart said that because of the “gravity of the case against the defendant,” he believes appointment of a private attorney to represent Guerrero is appropriate. Texarkana lawyer Jeff Harrelson entered a not-guilty plea to the charge Friday on Guerrero’s behalf and entered pleas of “not true” to the allegations of prior felony convictions listed in Guerrero’s indictment’s enhancement.

Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp said she provided most of the discovery in the case to Harrelson at Friday’s hearing. The evidence against Guerrero includes a video of the alleged harassment, Crisp said.

“For the record, I have not made a plea offer in this case,” Crisp said. “It is not the state’s intention to make any kind of offer. The state intends to exercise its right to a jury trial.”

Lockhart scheduled the case for a pretrial hearing later this month and tentatively set it for jury selection April 26.