Tyler

By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer
©Tyler Morning Telegraph

They are accused of using inmates to work on personal property, misusing county funds and using county equipment and fuel for their personal use — now, four Smith County Sheriff Department employees have been fired and are facing a variety of felony criminal charges as the Texas Rangers take over the investigation.

Sheriff J.B. Smith confirmed information Wednesday — obtained through sources by the Tyler Morning Telegraph — that four of his department’s low-risk jail detention officers, including facility supervisor Lt. Gary Lile, were terminated Tuesday and are now the focus of criminal investigations.

Smith identified the terminated officers as 12-year veteran Lile, Brandon Langston, Jeff Hudnall and Benjamin Hicks.

Smith said other officers assigned to the low-risk jail facility could face administrative discipline or termination and also be included in the Rangers’ investigation.

“I am extremely disappointed in the conduct of these individuals. I put policies, protocols and personnel in place to prevent this sort of behavior; however, when the information was brought to my attention, I insisted on doing the right thing and taking the appropriate action,” he told the newspaper, which learned of the firings Tuesday night. “We clean our own house as the public would expect us to do.”

Smith confirmed an internal investigation began in mid-January after allegations surfaced about the four men, and he admits other officers who worked at the facility and later transferred could also face disciplinary action or termination.

“The investigation involves allegations of inmate labor for personal use, misappropriation of funds and policy violations. As our investigation unfolded it was revealed that some employees used county property, equipment and fuel for their personal use,” he said.

Smith said inmates were used to work on the officers’ property, such as equipment and vehicles. It is not believed any inmates worked on anyone’s homes or land, the sheriff said.

The violations included misusing the Estray funds and using inmates to gather scrap metal and selling it. The money collected was never turned in.

The sheriff said the Estray funds are monies collected from the sale of stray livestock rounded up off county roadways that no one has claimed. He further stated these animals are publicized in legal advertisements and are only sold after all attempts to locate the owner have failed. Monies collected from the sales are deposited into the county’s general fund.

When asked how much money could be involved, the sheriff said he could not talk about the specifics of the case.

In reference to how much scrap metal had been collected by inmates, he said 55 tons of trash had been processed in the past year. However, Smith said some of the collected trash items included aluminum cans. He did not know how many pounds had been salvaged.

“We don’t know how much they could have collected and sold at this time, but they never turned any of that money in according to departmental guidelines,” he said.

The newspaper first reported Lile being put on paid leave earlier this month and was told by Smith that he believed there were only departmental policies broken, but that if evidence pointed to possible criminal charges he would forward the case to the Rangers.

“The internal investigation is still ongoing at this point and we are still gathering information. There could be more people who have transferred out of that department that could face the same thing,” he said. “Due to the nature of the allegations, our findings, when completed, will be turned over to the Rangers.”

Smith said there were several people being interviewed in connection with the allegations by his detectives.

Lile had been with the department since 1996 and was over the low-risk jail for several years. He is also a former police chief for the city of Winnsboro.

Smith said this investigation was not connected to earlier investigations when the Tyler Paper reported on alleged misuse of inmates working on personal automobiles several years ago. He did say this investigation indicates the alleged violations have been occurring for up to two years.

“Oh no, this has nothing to do with that and these people were not involved in that investigation. In fact some of them were not even with the department then,” he said.

Smith said Chief Gary Pinkerton, who oversees the county’s incarceration facilities, will oversee the operations at the low-risk facility.

Tuesday’s firings mark the second time in less than two months that the sheriff has had to dismiss an officer for violations of department policy.

The longtime sheriff said he would not tolerate wrongdoing by any of his employees and said the firings put another black eye on law enforcement.

“They knew the rules, they knew the regulations and they knew the law. There’s no excuse for it,” he said.

Updated Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 8:25 a.m. CDT

Gary Lile is shown at the Low Risk jail in Tyler.
((Staff File Photo by Amy Peterson))