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Rhoades
James Timothy Rhoades, a 38-yearold resident of Beaumont and employee of the local federal prison recently indicted on the third-degree felony charge of stalking, stood before Judge Raquel West, March 25, as she prepared to decide whether his bond would be raised following calls made to Beaumont Police Department Detective Sgt. Yvette Borrero.
Unbeknownst to Judge West and against the original conditions of his bond, it was learned that Rhoades was not wearing a GPS tracking device.
An attempt to reach an administrator with the Jefferson county correctional facility was unsuccessful as of press time.
“I wanna go back and look if that’s one where the conditions are on some other screen at the jail, and show them how important, why that’s an issue,” said West, indicating prior issues with ensuring bond conditions are met before defendants are released from custody. “Make a note for us to check on that GPS tomorrow.”
According to Borrero, she received multiple calls following the Feb. 1 publication of The Examiner, which detailed Rhoades’ indictment based on public information.
Borrero stated that Rhoades, indicted for stalking after admitting to placing a GPS tracking device on his ex-wife’s vehicle, called and left her a voicemail.
“He expressed to me he was upset and was angry about it and it’s ruined his life and made reference to, ‘I’m not going to take it,’” Borrero told Judge West. “I tried to call him back to reassure him … I don’t talk to the press.”
The Examiner can confirm that public information from Rhoades’ indictment was the only information used in the article titled “Local prison employee facing prison time.”
Borrero said the defendant did not directly threaten her, but that it did concern her because he said he was angry.
“I’ve been in this for 30 years; when people get emotional or upset, I don’t take it lightly,” Borrero advised, and also indicated that she had received a call from Rhoades’ estranged ex-wife and victim, concerned he would be able to find her.
According to Rhoades’ Jan. 24 indictment, the arrest unfolded after a complaint filed by Rhoades’ ex-wife reached the Beaumont Police Department. Borrero, handling the case, detailed in the probable cause affidavit that Rhoades’ ex-wife reported harassment that came to light when she discovered a tracking device her ex-husband confessed to installing on her car; Rhoades explicitly directed the victim to its location.
Borrero disclosed in the indictment, “He had also sent her multiple unwanted text messages and emails trying to speak with her.”
Although the couple’s divorce had been finalized on Nov. 27, 2023, accompanying evidence for the pending stalking claim included footage from a Ring camera capturing Rhoades showing up uninvited at a friend of his ex-wife’s home, displaying an eagerness to make contact.
Within one of his messages detailed in the affidavit for his arrest, Rhoades openly admitted to engaging in “stalkerish behavior” and expressed regret over his actions. He likewise admitted awareness of his ex-wife filing the police report as the tracking device revealed her presence at the police department.
Fearing for her life due to the consistent and alarming pattern of behavior exhibited by Rhoades, the ex-wife conveyed to officers a belief that he posed a credible threat to her and her children. She pointed out that Rhoades possessed prior military and law enforcement training, coupled with access to various weapons.
In response to the ongoing threat, the ex-wife’s place of employment, a federal prison, opted to transfer her to another state. Both Rhoades and his ex-wife worked at the same federal prison, prompting measures to ensure they were scheduled on opposite shifts until the completion of the relocation process.
Law enforcement officials revealed the existence of an audio recording in which Rhoades confessed to placing the tracking device on her car.
“What I need to know is what, if anything, has happened since then, and have there been any violations of any bond conditions,” West asked to Borrero denial. Rhoades’ attorney, Carl Allen Parker Jr., couldn’t be certain that his client was indeed current on bond condition adherence.
“For the court, I don’t think there’s ever been a GPS monitor device, which I think is custom,” Parker interjected.
“It is, and I don’t understand why (Rhoades does not have a GPS), and the bond conditions are obviously something I’m going to address today,” West declared before turning to address the defendant directly.
“Without any issues that I know of since December, I’m not going to increase your bond Mr. Rhoades,” West said, before adding strict stipulations: “I want you to understand, you see where everybody is on this, the importance of you not having contact or communication with your ex-wife is the only thing that is going to keep you out of jail.”
West ordered Rhoades to acquire a GPS monitoring device, allowing 24 hours for its placement.
“I want proof of that by tomorrow morning,” said West. “If you contact, communicate with her, or are around her, we’re gonna know about it, your bond is going to be raised, and you’ll be right back in jail with a higher bond.”
West reset Rhoades’ case, allowing him 30 days to hire an attorney as he stated he could afford his own legal representative rather than the one provided by taxpayers up to this point.
Speaking with The Examiner after court, West said personnel are navigating system upgrades made in March 2023.
“It’s not that we’re having a huge problem across the board, but there may be some during the transition, where conditions were put on a different screen and with the new program weren’t seen,” West said. “Everyone is aware and has had ongoing training to make sure the bond conditions are input in the correct place so that the defendant is given those bond conditions when they are let out of jail.”