This interview was recorded Wednesday, Sept. 22, at the Henderson County Justice Center.
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In this week's Sheriff's Report, Sheriff Botie Hillhouse talks about two laws that have gone into effect this month: Constitutional Carry and new punishments for fentanyl.
I. Stats (:32)
There are currently 409 in the jail with 95 of those being out-of-county inmates. The jail is averaging 407 inmates for the year, which is an important number because it means the jail is at 80 percent capacity.
"When we hit 407, we have to continue to notify the Jail Commission," Sheriff Hillhouse said.
II. Legislative Updates (1:25)
The Sheriff's Office is doing Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) training this week to review new laws passed by the State Legislature. Sheriff Hillhouse said District Attorney Jenny Palmer was conducting the legislative update for local peace officers.
There will be six classes this week.
"I really feel like it is great when you have the prosecutor who is going to prosecute most of these cases train law enforcement," Sheriff Hillhouse said, "so you will know what her outlook is on each one of these new laws."
Any law enforcement officer is eligible to attend the classes.
III. Constitutional Carry (3:45)
The Constitutional Carry law eliminates the requirement for residents to get a license to carry handguns if they’re not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a gun.
Sheriff Hillhouse said he doesn't foresee the new law changing anything for the Sheriff's Office.
"We're going to treat every contact that we have as if they have a weapon until we know they don't have a weapon," he said. "We're going to be on alert anyway and basically expect everyone to have a weapon. It's not going to affect the way we do our job."
IV. Fentanyl (8:06)
A new law that went into effect on Sept. 1 enhances the criminal penalties for manufacturing and distributing fentanyl. Under this law, the punishment for the manufacture or delivery of 4-200 grams of fentanyl is a minimum of 10 years in prison or a maximum of life in prison. The minimum sentence increases to 15 years for an amount of 200-400 grams and 20 years for an amount of over 400 grams.
Sheriff Hillhouse said fentanyl is a very dangerous drug that can easily cause overdoses.
"We do not see it a lot," he said, "but it is all over the country, it is all over the state. It will be here, there's no doubt in my mind that it will be here."
Sheriff Hillhouse said fentanyl is even a danger for the deputies.
"If you get that powder on you or ingest it, bad things can happen," he said. "It's a very big concern for me and our deputies out there in the field trying to get it off the streets."
