Date: September 26, 2006
Case: People v. Wallace Laffitte, Jr.
Contact: Steve Secrest, Supervising Deputy District Attorney
Phone
number 874-8750
District Attorney Jan Scully announced today that Ex-Correctional
Officer Wallace Laffitte Jr. was sentenced to three years in state
prison after pleading guilty to offering to sell controlled substances
to a prisoner at California State Prison-Sacramento and to possessing a
deadly weapon on prison grounds without authorization by the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
On March 20, 2006, Correctional Officer Laffitte was tape recorded
offering to bring Methamphetamine and Marijuana to an inmate in exchange
for $500 of marked money. Officer Laffitte was arrested that same day by
Special Agents of CDCR’s Internal Affairs Division who had coordinated
the surveillance. Officer Laffitte had the marked money in his
possession when arrested as well as a 9 inch folding knife without the
prior authorization of CDCR to possess a deadly weapon on prison
grounds. Officer Laffitte waived his Miranda rights and admitted that he
had been selling Methamphetamine and Marijuana to inmates for almost a
year to support his crack cocaine addiction. He was subsequently fired
from his Correctional Officer position by the CDCR.
Superior Court Judge Gary Ransom sentenced Ex-Officer Laffitte to two
years state prison for offering to sell narcotics to the inmate with a
consecutive one year state prison term for possessing a deadly weapon
without authorization on prison grounds for a total term of three years
state prison. Laffitte had been allowed to remain out on bail pending
sentencing, but had entered a Cruz Waiver with a stipulated 7 year state
prison sentence if he failed to appear for sentencing. Laffitte also
waived his right to appeal any aspect of this case. The 49 year old
Laffitte had been a Correctional Officer for 19 years.
