Texas Corrections Officer Arrested for Illicit Chicken Wing Trade with Inmate

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – A Travis County Sheriff’s Office correctional officer faces charges for allegedly smuggling unauthorized items into an Austin jail.

The item causing the stir? Chicken wings.

On August 21, a member of the Sheriff’s Office’s Security Threat Intelligence Unit discovered that a recently hired officer might have delivered chicken wings to an inmate in exchange for cash, as detailed in a Tuesday press release from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO).

The TCSO has not clarified whether this incident was part of a recurring scheme or disclosed the amounts of money or chicken involved.

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.