Ex-McLennan County Jail kitchen employee pleads guilty to having sex with inmate

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - A former kitchen worker at the McLennan County Jail pleaded guilty Friday to having sex with a three-time convicted felon while he was locked up in November 2020.

Deandre Retina Spears, 34, pleaded guilty to three counts of improper sexual activity with a person in custody, a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in a state jail facility.

Judge Thomas West of Waco’s 19th State District Court accepted Spears’ guilty pleas and directed probation officers to conduct a background report, which he will review before sentencing Spears. Sentencing is set for April 14.

Prosecutors recommended that Spears be placed on deferred probation in a plea bargain with Spears.

Spears and her attorney, Melanie Walker, declined comment after Spears pleaded guilty Friday.

According to the indictment against Spears, she twice engaged in “deviate sexual intercourse,” or oral sex, with the inmate and “sexual intercourse” while the inmate was in custody. All three encounters occurred on the same day, according to county records.

The inmate was sentenced to seven years in prison for evading arrest or detention with a vehicle in 2020. He also spent two stints in prison for possession of methamphetamine, records show.

Copyright 2023 KWTX. All rights reserved.