By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A fired Lewis County Jail guard was given a 90-day jail sentence today following a plea deal in which local prosecutors agreed not to file any charges of assault that could have occurred during his time as a corrections officer.
Trevor S. Smith was terminated last summer for mistreatment of two inmates, conduct his superiors wrote “shocks the conscience and could be viewed as violating basic civil rights possessed by all human beings regardless of status.”
Smith was arrested about two weeks later at his home in Chehalis for something unrelated however, for allegedly snooping into secure jail computer records. Computer trespass is a class C felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Smith was hired at the sheriff’s office in 2004 and promoted to jail sergeant in 2011. The inmate issues were investigated internally.
His June 27, 2014 termination letter and related documents show Smith was disciplined for directing that an inmate be kept in a restraint chair for approximately twelve hours without food, water or restroom breaks.
Also, after Smith directed the discharge of pepper spray into the closed cell of an inmate with mental health issues, the inmate was not offered a wet towel, a shower or any decontamination for more than five hours; the cell had no running water, according to the sheriff’s office.
Mark McClain is a former Lewis County deputy prosecutor who was elected in November as Pacific County prosecutor, and returned today for Smith’s hearing.
As part of the deal, prosecutors dropped two of the five counts of computer trespass, McClain said.
McClain said the sheriff was involved in the resolution of the case, and went along with it, acknowledging “the good things Mr. Smith did for the sheriff’s office.”
McClain and Defense attorney Shane O’Rourke said the state agreed not to pursue any collateral investigations as part of the plea agreement.
McClain asked the judge to lock Smith up for 90 days.
O’Rourke recommended his client be allowed to serve his time on electronic home monitoring.
O’Rourke said Smith qualified for several reasons. He’s working, for UPS; he’s going to school, getting an online MBA; and has partial custody of his children.
O’Rourke said his client doesn’t believe there was excessive force even in the civil context or the context of his profession.
As to the reason prosecutors would agree to not pursue criminal charges:
“If I was going to speculate, it would be because it doesn’t amount to criminal assault,” O’Rourke said.
Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt ordered Smith to begin 90 days on home monitoring by Feb. 17. He was given credit for one day, for the roughly 28 hours he spent in jail when he was arrested, according to his lawyer.
Smith declined a request by a reporter for comment after the hearing.
•••
For background, read:
• “Lewis County Jail sergeant let go for mistreating inmates, then arrested for computer snooping at work ” from Wednesday July 16, 2014, here
• “Sheriff’s Office: Fired corrections officer allowed inmates to suffer” from Friday July 18, 2014, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
I will say that I personally believe that Trevor Smith was not prosecuted for his extreme violent treatment of inmates because that would have caused several more employees of the Sheriff’s Office to be prosecuted for mistreatment, assault, excessive force, and much more. During his trial many more crimes against incarcerated citizens by other employees of the Sheriff’s Office would have been exposed. So yeah this is a classic case once again by the Sheriff’s Office covering their own. Had he been charged and gone to trial during cross examination, the correctional officers below him would have admitted to wrongdoings as well. Potentially causing several corrections officers to be charged and prosecuted as well. Then this would have been a huge embarrassing scandal for the Sheriff’s Office. The plea deal offered to Mr. Trevor Smith was nothing more than a brilliant idea of damage control thought up by the Sheriff’s Office. So now there are several people still working there who treat the inmates just as bad that will never be held accountable. It upsets me so much to see our tax dollars paying the wages of these corrections officers, the court officials handling this case, and to know that not everyone was held accountable who was responsible.
What a bunch of bullshit. Anyone else would be in prison. I personally know this puke and if treating people like he did gets him 90 days home monitoring and I get 90 days without home monitoring for driving on a suspended license then I would say that something is truly wrong here. What do they expect people to think when we are punished so much worse then they are. They make their own rules as they go along.
This is regulation treatment of the inmates in Lewis County jail. Is anyone shocked? The way this jail is ran is disgusting. What a shock his lawyer doesn’t want him to do his time in jail with the inmates he treated like garbage. He’s a bully, nothing more. This job was the perfect way for him to treat others like shit and get away with it. He’s scum.
I had a kid in jail who has severe mental illness. Because she “looked ok”, her attorney (who met her one time in court) did not request a mental health eval, therefore she spent six months in jail without treatment. Of course she got worse and acted out. I shudder at the thought that this animal was in charge of her welfare. I know she spent four days between arrest and getting into population. Now I wonder how much of the time was in a 4-point restraint chair. Fortunately, she has no memory of the time. But it is reports like this that make it difficult to ever trust the system again. Even knowing there are those inside trying to make it work well, I don’t know if there are enough to balance out having creatures like this among them.
It says he works for UPS so that doesn’t mean he can only be a driver. There are warehouse jobs sorting packages.
just filed a complaint w/ UPS. I don’t want him on our doorstep or in the neighborhood delivering packages.
Great. This sociopath gets a slap on the wrist before he’s on to new ways of harming others. Really responsible, justice system.
People with power always use and abuse
Pepper spraying someone is 2nd degree assault for a “Regular Joe”. I see he wasn’t charged with that…..
Wow just wow!
Smith must have been on the outs with the good old boys in the LCSO or they would have covered this up and not thrown him to the wolves.
There is a high ranking guy there guilty of tanking an attempted murder case who seems to only have been demoted but probably for other reasons.
U have no idea what u are talking about. Trevor has no connections. If he had connections in that stupid good ole boy system this shit wouldnt have even gotten out. You have no idea how much the people with real connections get away with.
A slap on the wrist because he has connections. A regular Joe would have gotten jail time.