Tarrant juvenile detention officer fired for smuggling in snacks, vape pens, report says

Tarrant County Juvenile Services fired a juvenile detention officer after he allegedly smuggled in snacks — including a bag of chips that had THC-infused vape pens hidden inside — for youths in custody.

The department terminated Dwayne Slay in May 2023, according to records that the Star-Telegram obtained through a public information request.

County spokesperson Bill Hanna declined a request for comment. Slay could not be reached for comment.

It took more than four months for the Star-Telegram to obtain detailed records of Slay’s termination. After the newspaper filed a public records request in October, the county petitioned the Texas Attorney General’s office for permission to withhold records on the basis that they contained information related to juveniles.

The Attorney General’s Office ordered the release of some of the information, including the bulk of the internal investigation report.

According to that report, in mid-May a youth in custody first alerted staff to the situation, which the department has categorized as “exploitation.” At that point, Slay was already two days into paid administrative leave, “due to a separate allegation that was unfounded.”

One of the juveniles told staff that he and at least three other youths were getting snacks from Slay. That juvenile also said that one of his family members was first making $50 payments, and then the payments increased to $70.

That juvenile, according to the internal affairs report, said that Slay would pick up snacks from a family member and then bring them into the juvenile detention center. One of the chip bags that Slay brought in had vape pens containing THC hidden in it, although the juvenile said that Slay didn’t know about the pens.

That same youth told investigators that, because of the payments his family was making to Slay, he also got extra phone calls and extra time out of his room.

When an investigator met with Slay about the exploitation allegations, he initially denied them, according to the internal affairs report. Then, after an investigator showed Slay screenshots of Cash App payments to his account — which totaled $210 from one family member over a one-month period — Slay “admitted to receiving the payments and stated that he, ‘got caught up’ trying to help the residents.”

He also denied meeting with the family member who gave him the snacks with vape pens inside, but later admitted to meeting that family member and said he didn’t know the pens were in the snacks.

Several days after the investigation began, Slay resigned from his job at the detention center. His termination was listed as “Involuntary - Misconduct” in records.

Slay had been working at the detention center since early 2019, according to county records, and received positive performance reviews throughout his time at the facility. His most recent rate of pay was $29.06 per hour. Before starting at Tarrant County’s juvenile detention center, Slay worked as a juvenile detention officer in Denton County and Lubbock County, according to his résumé.

Before working in juvenile justice, Slay played football at Texas Tech. During his one season as a starting safety, he set a Big 12 record with eight forced fumbles. Undrafted out of college, he signed with the Chicago Bears in 2006 and then played for the Amarillo Dusters — an indoor team that has since been renamed the Amarillo Venom — and the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers.