TCSO Officer Arrested for Giving Cell Phone to Inmate, Gobert wooed two officers Options

[TCSOA Place 1]

Today's events are a reminder of the dangers and manipulation Corrections Officers face on a daily basis. We are constantly asked by inmates to "do me a favor". As a matter of policy, we do not do favors. If a request can be granted because it does not violate policy, the fact is, most of us would do it. On ocassion, there is a thin line between a favor and a request. The inmates know where this line is. Afterall, they have all day to think about it. When you do not recognize this line, a request can quickly turn into a favor and then you are hooked. The inmate has you exactly where he wants you. If you don't follow through on the next "favor" you feel trapped. So you think, if I do the next favor maybe I won't get in trouble for the first one and so on you go only making it worse because you hope he won't tell (he will eventually) and you do not want to face the consequences for your actions. The inmate will now have you exactly where he wants you, at his disposal. It is "Inmate Con Games 101." Warning! If he has done it once, he will search for his prey and do it again!

In addition, concern and compassion for one's well being or current circumstance can quickly turn to fraternization. No matter how we feel about one's circumstance or how we feel about them, we have to know where the line is and not cross it. The answer is provided in the policies and procedures set by the department. As an ogranization, we are not in support members who willfully violate departmental policy and commit acts that violate the laws of the State of Texas. We have to make good choices and remain alert at all times. By now, I am sure that officer Lass realizes the choice she made was not wise. If she had the chance, I am sure she would choose a different path. Those of us who worked with her would have never imagined she would become a victim of "Con Games 101".

While we do not know all the facts and circumstances surrounding her demise and we will never know what actually lead her to fall victim to inmate Gobert, we should all learn from her lesson. While this circumstance will undoubtly give us a black eye in the eye of the public; and they are already voicing their opinion on various websites, this is not the norm for our department. We have competent officers who go about their daily task and do exactly what is asked of them. However, the public will only remember the one who made a bad choice. (and it was a choice) Take a moment to review the following article from the Statesman and consider what you would do if you were in this situation. Don't make the news by making the wrong choice.

<H1 class=articleHeadline>Witnesses: Convicted killer wooed at least 2 jail officers</H1>
The jury that will soon decide whether convicted killer Milton Dwayne Gobert gets the death penalty learned Thursday that since Gobert's 2003 arrest he has wooed at least two female Travis County jail officers into forbidden romantic relationships.

One of the officers, Tasha Lass, testified that after the start of Gobert's trial last week, she gave him a cell phone so when he called her from jail, their conversations would not be recorded.

Lass' testimony about the cell phone was apparently a surprise to authorities and prompted a search of Gobert's cell, where prosecutor Gary Cobb said a phone was found Thursday inside a bag of chips.

A sheriff's office spokesman said Lass, 36, was put on administrative duty while being investigated for bringing a prohibited item inside a correctional facility, a third-degree felony. Later, online jail records revealed that Lass was arrested and booked into the jail she once guarded.

County spokesman Roger Wade said he had no further information on her case.

Gobert was convicted of capital murder Tuesday in the Oct. 6, 2003, death of Mel Kernena Cotton, a friend of Gobert's ex-girlfriend. Cotton was stabbed and cut 107 times in an attack that left her son, then 5, injured from four stab wounds, according to testimony.

During the sentencing phase of the trial, which is expected to continue into next week, lawyers present evidence meant to help the jury answer two questions: whether Gobert poses a continuing threat to society and whether there are any mitigating reasons to give him life in prison instead of the death sentence. If the answers are "yes" and "no" respectively, Gobert's sentence will be death.

Much of the other punishment testimony centered on allegations that Gobert has frequently abused women.

Prosecutor Allison Wetzel said in an interview that Gobert's separate romantic relationships with Lass and another corrections officer show that he is dangerous. Wetzel said Gobert could potentially use his ability to manipulate guards to have them do things for him that would allow him to injure or kill someone else.

"The fact that there's a pattern of him doing this makes him a security risk," Wetzel said.

Defense lawyer Leonard Martinez suggested that the testimony about the women falling for Gobert shows that he has some redeeming qualities.

"At least two women think he's a good guy," Martinez said.

The second day of the punishment phase of Gobert's trial got off to a slow start when state District Judge Bob Perkins learned from his staff that a male juror received a suspicious voice-mail message while showering at about 7:15 a.m. Thursday. The message sounded like the recording at the start of a call from the Travis County Jail, Perkins was told.

Perkins' court coordinator Lisa Eufracio learned that the person whose name was on the juror's voice message is not an inmate at the jail, she said. Perkins asked the sheriff's office to investigate. Later, authorities said the number the call came from was a cell phone but did not say whether there was any relation to the trial or to the cell phone found in Gobert's cell.

Capt. Lisa Brown, a jail supervisor who was called to testify by prosecutors, told the jury that Patricia Wieczorek resigned as a jail officer in 2007 after she was confronted with questions about a romantic relationship with Gobert.

Brown said that Wieczorek had allowed Gobert out of his cell to help clean the jail even though as a maximum-security inmate he should not have been given that privilege. She also said Wieczorek had numerous personal phone conversations, some of them romantic, with Gobert, a violation of jail policy.

After Wieczorek resigned, she continued to visit Gobert. All told, Wieczorek visited Gobert 17 times from May through November 2007, Brown testified.

Brown said relationships between inmates and officers are strictly prohibited. Wieczorek could not be reached for comment.

Prosecutors then called Lass, a Travis County corrections officer since June, to testify.

On Monday, she appeared in court during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial, when she was called by Gobert's defense to testify that inmates who share cells have access to one another's belongings and legal papers.

The testimony was meant to show that one of Gobert's former cellmates could have learned about his case through court documents and not through what the inmate claimed was Gobert's bragging about the killing.

During that testimony, Lass made no mention of a relationship with Gobert. Afterward, Lass remained in court to watch some of the trial, sitting in the front row behind Gobert's defense table.

On Thursday, Lass was again called to the witness stand — this time by prosecutors. She told the jury that she bought a disposable cell phone for Gobert so the calls he made would not be linked to her.

She did not say when the relationship began. During one conversation, recorded and played in court, Gobert repeatedly told Lass that he loved her. "I know," Lass said.

During much of the conversation, Gobert talked about his case. He also rambled about other things, including his family and shopping at warehouse stores and iPods. Gobert did much of the talking.

At one point, Gobert asked, "You feel me?"

Lass responded, "I wish I could feel you."

skreytak@statesman.com; 912

This post has been edited by TCSOA Place 1: Mar 5 2010, 01:45 PM