TCOLE suspends license of Lufkin ISD police officer

Lufkin Daily News
By VALERIE REDDELL/The Lufkin Daily News
September 15, 2023

Lufkin ISD police officer Juan José Gilberto Tinajero remains in his job with the school district despite the fact that the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) suspended his peace officer’s license Aug. 25 after a recent investigation found numerous false statements on a personal history statement he prepared as part of the application process.

In response to an open records request, TCOLE provided an agreed order showing the agency fully probated the suspension if several terms are met.

Tinajero’s license has been on an “administrative hold” status since Nov. 22, 2022, TCOLE records show.

Lufkin ISD administrators told The Lufkin Daily News early Friday that the district only learned about TCOLE’s action this week.

“The district is in review of the report and is addressing this personnel matter,” said Sheila Adams, executive director of communications and public relations.

The order states that Tinajero intentionally omitted information about disciplinary actions taken by prior employers where he worked as a licensed peace officer.

Those omissions included a termination as well as traffic and incident reports for a background investigation by the Lufkin ISD Police Department before he was offered the job he now holds, records showed.

Tinajero must complete a law enforcement ethics course and pay an administrative fee of $250 to the commission. He also must provide copies of TCOLE’s agreed order to all law enforcement agencies where he is appointed, has applied for appointment or has a pending application for employment. He also must provide proof that the order was delivered to employers and potential employers to TCOLE’s legal division.

Any additional violations of commission rules could result in the probation being terminated.

TCOLE’s records show that Tinajero was hired by Lufkin ISD Aug. 13, 2019. Before that, he was a reserve officer for the Diboll Police Department from Feb. 28, 2007, to July 16, 2014. He was a reserve officer for the Angelina County Sheriff’s Office from Nov. 1, 2004, to Jan. 1, 2007.

Mickey Hadnot, a retired lieutenant from the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Narcotics Division, filed a complaint with TCOLE June 9, 2022, after he learned about irregularities surrounding Tinajero’s hiring. He has also filed a lawsuit against the school district.

Hadnot was seeking one of the positions available at Lufkin ISD at the time. He now works as a school resource officer for Diboll High School with 32 years of experience as a law enforcement officer working in East Texas.

A report by Sgt. Marina Petkovsek following her investigation on TCOLE’s behalf showed that Tinajero petitioned the agency June 19, 2019, to change a Separation of Licensee Report, often referred to as an F-5.

A change was ordered by Administrative Law Judge Rachelle White, and TCOLE executive director Kim Vickers changed Tinajero’s F-5 from Diboll Police Department to reflect that he had been honorably discharged.

Petkovsek interviewed Hadnot and reported his statement that he was told by an interview board member that the board included several friends of another candidate who had also applied for the position.

The investigator said Hadnot ignored the warning and completed the hiring process expecting a favorable outcome. Hadnot said he later learned that Tinajero was “best buddies” with the chairman of the interview board David Rodriguez, according to the report.

During depositions related to Hadnot’s lawsuit against Lufkin ISD, his attorneys learned that Tinajero had attended Rodriguez’s wedding in Mexico.

Hadnot had been ranked as the No. 1 candidate for hire until the process was changed to “personal preference,” the report states.

Attorneys held depositions of five witnesses and uncovered falsified documents after each deposition, according to the report.

“When Tinajero submitted his application to LISD, nowhere on the application (online application and personal history statement) is it mentioned he was terminated, put on probation, suspended, etc. but all the information is available in his file with Diboll PD,” Petkovsek wrote.

“There is probably a total of six false statements between the two documents,” Petkovsek said.

She asked Hadnot how he knew of Tinajero’s termination from ACSO. Hadnot said the sheriff told him.

Mark Guerrero, also a friend of Hadnot, was the captain supervising the reserve officer program and terminated Tinajero, the investigator reported.

Guerrero also had applied for the LISD student resource officer position. Hadnot suspects Guerrero was ranked last because he fired Tinajero.

The investigator’s report also states that depositions show four people conspired to commit fraud by falsifying government records and securing the execution of government documents by deception.

She identifies the four as Jay Jost, Rodriguez, Tinajero and Tamisha Forrest in her report.

In Petkovsek’s summary of her interviews with former Diboll police chief Ricky Conner and assistant chief Norman Williams, both men confirm terminating Tinajero. Williams adds that he is not eligible for rehire.

Williams described Tinajero as a “toxic officer” during his interview. He also said Tinajero was suspended at one time for failing to pass firearms qualification testing.

When Petkovsek interviewed Tinajero, he described the errors and omissions as mistakes he made after misunderstanding the questions. When Petkovsek asked him why he did not report his termination as a Diboll reserve officer, Tinajero said he thought the volunteer position didn’t count.

“I never viewed it as actual paid employment, but I did list it on my school application as experience,” Tinajero is quoted as saying in the report.

She asked Tinajero if he remembered receiving a criminal trespass warning and being a victim of assault. He said he did recall the assault but not the trespass warning, the report states. TCOLE regulations mandate reporting both incidents on any subsequent personal history statement.

She notes in her report that Tinajero was attempting to serve civil papers Dec. 10, 2015, when a complainant asked Tinajero to leave or he would call the police.

Tinajero remained on the property and received a written warning from deputy Cody Matthews, according to records Petkovsek obtained during her investigation.

She also learned of a June 18, 2019, incident when Tinajero was choked by someone while attempting to serve papers to a family member of the aggressor.

Petkovsek also received documents from the Diboll Police Department that confirm the following:

■ His failure of one or more firearms qualification tests.

■ Two letters of reprimand issued in July 2010.

■ A termination notice dated Aug. 10, 2012.

■ Notices that he was placed on probation on two occasions in 2012.

■ His dismissal from the DPD reserve program in 2014.

Petkovsek’s report also includes portions of TCOLE’s standard personal history forms that spell out requirements to report all disciplinary actions taken by employers.

The form also warns applicants that failing to truthfully complete the document could result in criminal charges.

The investigator noted that she had forwarded her report to the Angelina County District Attorney for review of criminal charges for tampering with a government record and forgery.

Valerie Reddell’s email address is valerie.reddell@lufkindailynews.com.