Pubdate: Sat, 19 Oct 2002 Source: Brownsville Herald, The (TX) Copyright: 2002 The Brownsville Herald Contact: http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/sections/contact/contact.shtml Website: http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1402 Author: Jennifer Muir JAIL GUARD SMUGGLES DRUGS A county jail guard was charged Thursday with smuggling marijuana to Cameron County inmates after admitting to supplying prisoners with the drug, county authorities said. Robert Dalzell saw what it is like on the other side of wrought iron bars Thursday night after Justice of the Peace Oscar Tullos reprimanded the officer at his arraignment, and ordered him held under $25,000 bail. "We are here to protect the inmates, and you are doing exactly what they did to get in here," Tullos told Dalzell. "This is a serious crime." Tullos traveled to the Cameron County Detention Facility in Olmito to arraign Dalzell in a jail dining area. The drug incident comes on the heals of three recent jail escapes and two riots in the last six months at county jails run by the Sheriff's Department. The former Rivera High School athlete faces up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines for apparently sneaking 1.25 pounds of marijuana into the jail and distributing it to inmates. Guards at the county jail apparently found the drugs in an inmate's cell during a routine search Tuesday night, authorities said. The inmate apparently told investigators that Dalzell had smuggled the contraband inside prison walls in a plastic bag, officials said. Sheriff Conrado Cantu said Dalzell admitted to the offense during questioning the next day. "I won't tolerate any of this activity in our jail," Cantu said Thursday. Investigators, who continue to question guards and inmates, would not reveal how Dalzell brought drugs into the prison. Currently, supervisors search guards when they arrive at work each day. Guards also undergo random drug tests, Cantu said. Dalzell, a five-month county employee who played on Rivera's state playoff-bound basketball team in 1998, apparently evaded those safety measures. While safety reforms are currently in the works, Cantu did not indicate any uniform revisions to jail policy Thursday. According to county records, Dalzell worked as a security guard for American Investigations in Brownsville for two years before joining the county law enforcement agency. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens