Accountability.
A Texas Department of Criminal Justice correctional officer was arrested in March 2026 after investigators alleged that he concealed tobacco inside burritos and left them in a Bradshaw Unit bathroom for an incarcerated person to retrieve.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by KLTV, prison staff reported finding the tobacco in a bathroom trash can shortly after seeing officer James Byron Thibodeaux leave the room. Investigators said Thibodeaux admitted dropping the burritos and receiving payment through Cash App.
Thibodeaux, 66, of Henderson, was booked into the Rusk County Jail on a charge of possessing a prohibited substance in a correctional facility and was later released on a $15,000 bond. KLTV reported that the alleged offense is a third-degree felony.
The charge is an allegation. Thibodeaux is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.