Sour Lake man's bond revoked

Monitoring device detected alcohol

NACOGDOCHES — The alcohol-monitoring ankle device Matt Vaglica's attorney championed as unfailingly accurate during his trial for intoxicated assault was the basis for Vaglica's return to jail Tuesday for violating the terms of his bond.

Christy Wooten/The Daily Sentinel (enlarge photo) The same alcohol-monitoring ankle device which his attorney claimed was accurate during his trial, sent Matt Vaglica to jail Tuesday for violating the terms of his bond.

The trial of the 23-year-old Sour Lake man on four counts of intoxicated assault ended January in a mistrial. Vaglica's attorney, John Heath Jr., had argued that his client shouldn't be sent to prison because the Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring device on his ankle would keep him in check were he given a probated sentence.

Vaglica, who crashed his SUV into a reserve deputy's car nearly two years ago, pleaded guilty to the charges and was facing two to 10 years in prison, a $10,000 fine for each third-degree felony charge and was eligible for a probated sentence. However, a jury could not reach a unanimous decision on his punishment. A new trial was scheduled to begin on July 28.

On Tuesday, District Judge Ed Klein revoked Vaglica's bond after an official with the company that monitors Vaglica's SCRAM device said the device detected alcohol and tampering. A former Nacogdoches sheriff's deputy also testified to seeing Vaglica enter two restaurant/bars in Crystal Beach recently.

Vaglica, in an orange jumpsuit with "Nacogdoches County Jail Inmate" emblazoned across the back, sat silently during the hearing with his head down, lifting it only to glance back at his family, seated in the courtroom.

Vick Cunningham Sr., COO of Recovery Healthcare, which provides and monitors the SCRAM devices, had previously testified for the defense during Vaglica's trial on the accuracy of the device.

On Tuesday, he was called to the stand to testify on the accuracy of the device as District Attorney Stephanie Stephens' witness.

Stephens attempted to admit three documents which showed a positive indication of alcohol and signs of tampering with the device. Heath argued the accuracy of the records as well as Cunningham's expertise. He said Cunningham was not a scientific expert on the device and therefore could not accurately speak on the technical aspects and reliability of the SCRAM monitor.

Stephens disagreed.

"It's a bit disingenuous of him to come in here and argue that this man is not an expert when he brought him in front of a jury claiming he was an expert just a few short months ago," Stephens said. "Mr. Heath presented this device to this court as being a valid device, a device that was so wonderful that you needed to continue it on his client's leg from now to eternity. Now he wants to stand with the same defendant, with the same device, and say that it's not a valid device — he can't have it both ways."

Heath still maintained that the device detected rubbing alcohol from Vaglica's skin, saying that it could not distinguish between alcohol that was consumed from the type of alcohol commonly used in many products.

"This theory was never proposed (in trial), because this issue never came up — the reliability of the device and the chance of it reading a false positive for alcohol," Heath said.

The SCRAM bracelet also monitors proximity to the skin to determine whether or not it's being worn. Heath said it's possible that Vaglica's device was too loose, which could be recorded as tampering.

Cunningham agreed the device was too loose. However, he said that when the distance from the skin was charted, it wouldn't indicate that it had been away from his skin continuously, for more than 10 hours, unless something had been placed between the device and his ankle.

Former Nacogdoches Sheriff's Deputy Jared Bishop testified he had seen Vaglica at two restaurants/bars in Crystal Beach. Bishop now resides in Crystal Beach, but recognized Vaglica from following the case.

Stephens admitted into evidence pictures Bishop took at the scene, which showed beer and alcohol signs displayed in the restaurants, as well as a photo taken with his cell phone of Vaglica in the establishment.

One condition of Vaglica's bond was that he stay away from establishments that served alcohol.

Bishop said he also ran the license plate of the truck Vaglica was in, which came back to a "Joe" in Sour Lake. He said he couldn't remember the last name of the person.

"I firmly believe Deputy Bishop saw Matt at Crystal Beach," Heath said in his closing argument. "There ought to be questions about the validity of the photos, but I don't think that's why we are here. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the issue that we have with the violation on the SCRAM device.

"I think we are in a situation where they are looking for validation on violations," he added, asking the judge for other options besides revoking Vaglica's bond, whether it be adding additional restrictions or reporting physically to a probation department.

In June 2007, after Vaglica had already been indicted and posted bond, Klein raised his bond $75,000 for each count of intoxicated assault after Vaglica was charged with two misdemeanors in connection with the assault of a woman at a club in Beaumont.

At that time, Klein also restricted him from visiting bars and clubs or drinking any alcohol. He also revoked Vaglica's license, instituted a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and ordered Vaglica to wear the alcohol monitoring device.

"I don't know what's going on down in Sour Lake or Beaumont because nobody is down there watching him," Stephens said to the judge. "This defendant has the distinct advantage of being outside of eyesight. He had the misfortune of being in Crystal Beach when Jared Bishop was there.

"He violated the terms you set up the last time when the terms of his bond were not adequate. In addition to that, he consumed alcohol and tampered with the SCRAM device" she added.

Klein decided to revoke Vaglica's bond and deny any bail. Vaglica will be housed in the Nacogdoches County Jail until his trial.

According to a Texas Department of Public Safety report, Vaglica's Nissan Xterra swerved into the path of the patrol car, striking it head-on. Four people were seriously injured in the wreck, including sheriff's deputy Ben Curtis and his wife, Shannon, who was accompanying her husband on a late-night call on state Hwy. 21 East. Two passengers in Vaglica's vehicle, Tim Rosell and Jacob Smith, were also seriously hurt. The Curtises spent several weeks in the hospital and underwent months of therapy recovering from their injuries.