FORMER JAILER FACES PRISON SENTENCE

A former jailer at the Val Verde County Jail spent a night locked up
there recently and faces up to 10 years in prison after he admitted to
sheriff's office investigators he smuggled marijuana into the jail to
give to an inmate -- for a fee of $30.

"He definitely, at least in my opinion, ruined his life for $30," said
John Campbell, who serves as warden of the jail for The GEO Group
Inc., the private company that operates that jail under contract with
Val Verde County.

"It's hard to comprehend that someone would risk all that for $30," he
said.

Val Verde County Sheriff A. D'Wayne Jernigan said his criminal
investigations division arrested the former jailer and an alleged
accomplice in mid-November.

Valentin Nava Jr., 21, 202 E. 2nd St., was charged with bringing in
and possessing a prohibited substance in a correctional facility, a
third degree felony.

If convicted, Nava faces up to 10 years in prison.

Also arrested was Azeneth Santellanes of Del Rio, no age or address
available. Santellanes also was charged with bringing in or having a
prohibited substance in a correctional facility.

CID Lt. Larry Pope said Nava is accused of picking up a baggie
containing 8.3 grams of marijuana in the parking lot of the Burger
King restaurant while he was on a break from his jail job.

Pope said Nava received the marijuana from Santellanes, who is
believed to be the mother of the inmate who asked Nava to pick up the
marijuana and bring it to him.

"Acting on information, Nava was searched while he was inside the Val
Verde County Jail and found to have a baggie of marijuana concealed in
his pants leg," Pope wrote in his arrest report on the investigation.

"Bringing contraband into jails, whether it's marijuana or cigarettes,
anything like that, is not an uncommon problem," Pope said in an
interview earlier this week. "It's something that requires continuous
maintenance because it is a serious offense,"

Pope wrote in his report that after his arrest, Nava "admitted he was
bringing the marijuana in to give to a prisoner."

Pope noted in his report that Nava said he was paid $30 to bring the
marijuana to an inmate at the jail.

Jernigan said, "We are constantly on alert for this kind of thing."

"It is a problem throughout the industry, but it's not something we've
had a lot of problems with here," Campbell added.

"We train constantly and remind people not to get caught up in this
kind of thing, but inevitably it happens," Campbell said.

Campbell said Nava, who was allowed to resign, had worked at the jail
for more than a year.

Jernigan added, "This young man made a decision that will, that has
already, altered the course of his life. . .He just didn't stop to
think."

"These jailers are hired to keep an eye on people who are in jail
because they are accused of breaking the law," Pope said. "They are in
a position of trust, just like police officers are. It's not the
amount of money, it's the line that you cross.

"The investigation is ongoing, and we expect to make some more
arrests."

Campbell gave the sheriff's office high marks for the investigation.

"We called and told them we'd come across this thing, and the
sheriff's office was great in jumping right on it. It couldn't have
been done any better than it was done. As soon as we called and said,
'This is what we know,' they got right to work on it. It's all a team
effort."