PROSECUTOR: GUARD SAID HE'S ADDICT

Higher Bail Sought For Officer Suspected In Prison Drug Trade.

A correctional officer accused of selling methamphetamine and
marijuana to inmates at California State Prison, Sacramento,
allegedly admitted to investigators that he furnished drugs to
inmates and is addicted to crack cocaine.

During Wallace Samuel Laffitte Jr.'s arraignment in Sacramento
Superior Court on Monday, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Steve
Secrest asked that Laffitte's bail be increased because his
statements led officials to believe he is a flight risk. "He's
admitted selling methamphetamines and marijuana to inmates and
admitted that he's addicted to crack cocaine," Secrest said in an
interview after the arraignment, repeating what he told Judge Gary E.
Ransom in court.

Laffitte, 49, of Sacramento did not enter a plea Monday. Laffitte,
who is free on his own recognizance, declined to comment after the arraignment.

Ransom said increasing bail would be discussed at Laffitte's next
hearing, scheduled April 12.

Laffitte was arrested March 20 on felony charges that include selling
and furnishing methamphetamine and marijuana to prison inmates,
having the drugs in his car while parked on prison property,
possessing drug paraphernalia while on prison property, and having a
9-inch folding and locking knife while on prison grounds, according
to the criminal complaint.

Laffitte should be held on bail that would normally accompany such
charges, which each carry a bail of $10,000, Secrest said after the
arraignment. "He shouldn't be out on his own recognizance," Secrest said.

Laffitte waived his Miranda rights after being arrested and agreed to
questioning by Department of Corrections investigators who taped the
conversation, Secrest said.

It was during that interview that Laffitte admitted his drug
addiction and furnishing methamphetamine and marijuana to inmates,
Secrest said.

Laffitte is facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

Dressed in a cream suit with light gray checking and wearing light
tan glasses, Laffitte stood by himself in court Monday while Ransom
read the six felony charges against him.

When Ransom asked if Laffitte, who did not yet have an attorney,
could afford a lawyer, he replied "Yes, sir."

According to public records, Laffitte earns about $68,000 a year as a
correctional officer at California State Prison, Sacramento, in
Folsom. He is on administrative leave, pending results of an internal
investigation.

Public records indicate that Laffitte may have had financial troubles
in recent years.

Laffitte filed for bankruptcy in August 2005, the same month a tax
lien for $38,631 was assessed against him.

Sacramento County Superior Court records show that he has been sued
in civil court by several finance and collection companies.