Main, left to right: William Eugene Romero and Crystal Janelle West (Potter County Sheriff’s Office). Inset: Corey Shawn Bavousett (PCSO).
New information has been released in the case of two prison guards in Texas who were arrested after they allegedly refused to help a prisoner whose cell was on fire.
Rather than assisting the victim, Sgt. Crystal Janelle West and Lt. William Eugene Romero allegedly decided that 39-year-old Corey Shawn Bavousett should be “smoked out.” They reportedly left him in his cell for more than two hours as the fire burned, which authorities say ultimately led to his death.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice confirmed to Law&Crime that the guards were arrested earlier this month “for their role in the failure to render aid to an inmate at the William P. Clements Unit,” which is located in Amarillo.
According to the TDCJ, at about 3:18 a.m. on Sunday morning, staff at the William P. Clements Unit “entered the cell of an inmate who lit a fire in his cell and had become unresponsive.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, Bavousett was being housed in the prison’s extended cell block, which is the facility’s highest security level, when at about 1 a.m., he allegedly set fire to his own mattress and his cell immediately began to fill with smoke.
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However, court records obtained by local ABC affiliate KVII provided additional information allegedly showing that the deadly situation had been unfolding for several hours before the guards requested assistance.
West was the first supervisor on the scene and she quickly ordered the inmate’s food tray to be opened, hoping the smoke would clear through the hole meant to pass meals to the victim. She then contacted Romero, who also responded to the situation.
Upon arriving, Romero reportedly ordered West to close Bavousett’s food slot, saying he wanted the inmate to be “smoked out,” before adding, “He started the fire, so he can deal with it.”
West reportedly obeyed the command, shutting the opening to the cell and continuing her routine until about 2:30 a.m., when she responded to another call at Bavousett’s cell due to excessive smoke buildup. West again ordered the food slot to be opened. But despite the increase in the amount of smoke in the cell, she “continued to refuse [the victim’s] plea to let them out,” investigators reportedly said.
West reportedly contacted Romero a second time. This time, the lieutenant allegedly said to clear some of the smoke out via the food slot, then close it up again.
Per the report, Bavousett just before 3 a.m. was said to have become unresponsive. Even though authorities said there was so much smoke in Bavousett’s cell they were unable to see anything, the door reportedly remained locked for an additional 21 minutes, which is when Romero reported the situation to his own supervisors for the first time.
The prison called for emergency medical personnel at 3:32 a.m., reporting that an inmate has experiencing “chest pains,” KVII reported. Bavousett was pronounced dead at 4:09 a.m.
In a subsequent interview with investigators, West allegedly admitted that she knew Romero’s order to keep Bavousett in the cell as it filled with smoke was unethical and potentially deadly.
“She was aware of her conduct but consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk to the inmate’s life,” authorities wrote in the arrest report. “Such risk was a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all circumstances as viewed from the her perspective.”
In a statement, TDCJ said it is “working closely with [Office of the Inspector General] and the Special Prosecution Unit so that those staff who allegedly failed to act will be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“Sgt. Crystal West was charged with manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and Lt. William Romero was charged with Criminal Negligence Homicide, a state jail felony,” the agency said. “Both employees are no longer employed by the agency.”
