3 prison officials indicted in alleged evidence burning
Nearly a year after they were arrested on felony charges, three Texas prison officials were indicted last month for allegedly torching tractor parts that could have been evidence in an ongoing investigation into suspected theft at an East Texas lock-up.
Jason Omelina, a farm shop property manager at the Eastham Unit in Houston County, was charged in the case along with two Huntsville-based officials, Terry Price and Rick Ellis.
The men’s lawyers did not respond to the Houston Chronicle’s request for comment this week, though they previously framed the charges as overreach.
“This isn’t some big collusion out there to bury some evidence,” said attorney Bryan Cantrell, who’s representing Ellis. “I am honestly lost as to why they think the facts as alleged in the probable cause statement support the prosecution of a crime.”
Investigators with the Office of the Inspector General for the prison system started investigating in July 2018 after fielding complaints about prison workers allegedly stealing farm equipment from the facility. To cover up the misdeeds, court records alleged, the workers lit some of the equipment on fire and decided to bury it in a pit outside the prison.
Authorities probing the case found the pit and questioned a number of employees and inmates. Ultimately, they alleged that Price had ordered Ellis, who had in turn allegedly ordered Omelina to “make the state’s surplus assets disappear,” according to court filings.
Last year, Ellis’ attorney said that the tractor parts were just surplus materials the workers wanted to get rid of and that they had no idea it was against protocol to dispose of the equipment in a burn pit without authorization.
The men were arrested in July 2018 and indicted in late June, according to Special Prosecution Unit officials.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice did not offer comment on the latest legal developments in the case, instead referring back to earlier comment.
“Integrity is one of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s core values,” spokesman Jeremy Desel said last year. “The department is committed to rooting out wrongdoing and holding employees accountable.”