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Corrections Officer Arrested On Drugs For Sex Charges
December 10, 2009
A corrections officer at the Escambia County Road Prison in Cantonment was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly offered to provide Xanax to an inmate in exchange for oral sex.
Lawrence Thomas Vieitez, 49, was charged with procuring for prostitution, sexual battery and possession of a barbiturate. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail and later released on $25,000 bond.
After the inmate complained about the correction officer’s advances, road prison officials filed a report with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. The inmate with fitted with a listening device while working Tuesday under the supervision of Vieitez .
The sheriff’s office reports that a deputy was able to listen in as Vieitez offered to exchange the Xanax for oral sex. Vieitez reportedly went home to retrieve the Xanax. When he returned and that inmate stated that he received the Xanax, Vieitez was arrested.
Vieitez has been placed on administrative leave without pay. He is scheduled to appear at an arraignment hearing on December 30.
The Escambia County Road Prison is operated by Escambia County; it is the only county-operated road camp in Florida.
Comments
22 Responses to “Corrections Officer Arrested On Drugs For Sex Charges”
How many years has this person been a corrections officer? 20 something!!!!!! yes 20 something.. He started at the road prison 2or 3 years ago after working over 20 years at the escambia county jail. What one person can do to mess up what so many others have worked so hard to do. I feel sorry for the officers at the road prison.They do a lot for our community and to have this one thing happen to over shadow all they have done. One bad corrections officer,police officer,school teacher,preacher and yes even the president makes all the rest look o so bad. It will take time for the road prison to recover from this but they will and I will be praying for them.I was proud to read that the road prison took action and reported it to the sheriffs office and helped catch this officer so he could not do this again ,when they could have swept it under the rug to protect there own reputation.
Cynical,
Huh?
Cynical,
What does that mean? Translation?
Honestly – couldn’t this guy have put more thought into this alleged crime and just given it a miss?
It’s hard enough to keep corrections officers without having to charge them with crimes.
The county road prison is run by Escambia County (I believe through the Board of County Comissioners) not the Department of Corrections (DOC) They also have county work release (by the Health Dept) and County Probation
He is not a DOC or ECSO employee
Umm, I think a lot of responses here are misinterpreting what I meant by the manipulation process. 1st and foremost, I am not EXCUSING,saying it wasn’t HIS FAULT for letting himself get manipulated if he did. I was simply implying that this idiot most likely was watched and observed until an inmate knew he was an easy target. And yes I do believe that he was a degenerate from the beginning since he committed this act of stupidity. He has been employed with DOC since 2006,plenty of time for inmates to get enough info to know if he was a target. And as far as the manipulation stopped with the pills?Former cop, the manipulation stops when “the sting” is enacted and in most cases the officer either resigns or is arrested. I have a better link for the article “Steps to a set-up” by Sgt. James Topan.
Now I will do what former cop did and place a statement before some or any of you think I am trying to say he was set up, or what he did was excuseable. I DO NOT THINK HE WAS SET-UP. I am merely trying to say he was in some way manipulated during this ordeal that he felt comfortable enough to try this idiotic act. No where does it say in the information currently released that he threatened the inmate with anything, which I DO NOT think it is an excuse. However, that duma** wouldn’t have attempted to do something so bold unless he has done it before and gotten away with it.
( I am assuming so since one of his charges is sexual battery which implies an act has occurred)
And former cop, I do agree with you that he was a degenerate that slipped through the cracks. I do recall my time with the state (11 yrs here one year in another state) when my friends would ask me,”do you ever worry about the inmates?” I answered it truthfully ” No, most(not all) of my co-workers would stab me in the back quicker than an inmate would.”
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/adult-children-addicted-alcoholic-parents/146124-has-anyone-ever-been-s_e_t_u_p.html
Well, at least he doesn’t use tobacco products. Goodness knows we don’t want that kind working for the county.
We can’t condemn all law enforcement for the actions of a few. The profession is conducive to the occasional bad conduct. There are a variety of reasons. Thankfully this thug was caught and will be taken out of one system and put into another.
I must disagree with the manipulation part. It would seem that manipulation would have stopped with the pills; but, c’mon, prostitution and sexual battery? Nah, this guy was a degenerate from the beginning that got through the process undetected; hey, it happens-remember the FBI agent that got busted for spying a few years ago?
(Oh yeah, before someone tells me that I don’t know what I’m talking about-I am a former certified corrections officer in FL and a former certified law enforcement officer in AL, FL, and GA with 14 years experience and a college degree in the field; I left the field honorably to enter the private sector.)
It doesn’t matter where you work. Manipulation is no excuse for getting caught doing something wrong. If you have it in you to do something immoral, THIS is how it comes out. The world has gone to the dogs. And they work right beside us all everyday.
If a officer lets anyone manipulate them its their own fault. Im sure that this was not the first time. Its what the officer liked. Its funny to think that some of these officers think noone knows what is going on. The walls do talk remember that next time you think noone will know.
All I can say is gross.
In the field of corrections, if you do something good, nobody hears about it. But if you do something bad, everybody hears about it.
Co K.
I am a fellow CO of 13 yrs experience,and to be honest with you,I actually wouldn’t mind if they associated me with a few of the bad ones.. as long as they don’t associate me with this idiot. If there are any newbie CO’s reading this here do this stupid stuff and you WILL get caught. That’s basic corrections 101.
What this guy did was despicable, I also would never defend him. However, there are many people who don’t work in the field that don’t understand how quick these convicts can manipulate officers,medical, and any civilian staff to do things that they would never had done in the outside world.I am about 99.9% positive that the inmate manipulated the situation in some way shape of form.(notice there is a .1 % margin of error if i am wrong) Here is a link of “The 14 steps of Manipulation.” very good reading for people not in the field to help them understand how quick a simple situation can spin out of control.
thanks,god bless Co K, be safe
http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/compass/0003/page03.html
Good advice, Officer K. You are right. We seldom hear about the good ones. A good retired correctional officer married my lifelong friend. He is Godly man, I love him like a brother. The ones that do stuff like this one turn my stomach. He needs to seek his Creator and be recreated. He can be as clean as a newborn again, but there is only One who can do that. Maybe, now that he’s been caught, he will genuinely repent and turn to Him with his whole heart. I pray that will happen.
Actually the FDLE requires a background check of all officers. I am not trying to defend this man, this is disgraceful to the department. I am only trying to clarify that, the requirements to be hired for a Correctional Officer position are very in depth including a federal and state background check. I ask all who read this not to associate all other officers with a few bad ones.
wow how stupid can one be
Observer,
Maybe, they do not want to hurt anyones self esteem by doing a background check. I wish I were kidding, but in view of our society in 2009, I see that as a viable possibility.
Wonder where the bump on his head came from? Somebody who didn’t want Xanex?
what is wrong with all of these people? Are they just crazy? Had he had a background check conducted on him, and if so, did it reveal anything?
Now that he will become one of the inmates, I guess he knows how to get Xanax.
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
~Lord Acton, Letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, 1887
Then there’s guys like this who don’t need idioms to be idiots.
Fox watching the goat pen. Makes my skin crawl.
Who can tell the watchers from watched