TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – A correctional officer with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office in Texas has been charged with bringing contraband items into the county’s correctional facility in Austin.
The contraband items in question? Chicken wings.
On Aug. 21, a corrections officer with the office’s Security Threat Intelligence Unit “became aware” that another newer officer may have “provided chicken wings to an inmate” in exchange for money, according to a press release issued by the Travis County Sheriff’s Office (TSCO) on Tuesday afternoon.
The TSCO did not say if the exchange was part of an ongoing arrangement, nor how much cash or chicken was involved.
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The correctional officer, who had been in his role since June 2024, was reassigned to administrative duties during the investigation.
He was ultimately charged with “Contraband in a Correctional Facility,” which is a class B misdemeanor, according to the TCSO. In Texas, a class B misdemeanor is punishable by up to 180 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both, according to the Texas Penal Code.
The officer was also terminated from his position and arrested, TCSO said.
“I’m disappointed that a Travis County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Officer made such a foolish decision. We hold our employees to a high standard of conduct and accountability. We simply cannot tolerate contraband of any type being brought into our secure facilities,” Sheriff Sally Hernandez was quoted as saying in the release.