BUFFALO, N.Y. — Letorrance Travis spent nearly a decade in prison for serious drug charges.
Once released he spent time at a halfway house in Buffalo called LightHouse Residential Reentry Center. It is operated by Community Resources for Justice.
Travis was at the Buffalo location on Glenwood Avenue from May of 2021 until November, when he was allowed to live with his family, but with restrictions. He wears a monitoring device that tracks his movement and detects locations.
Since his release from prison he has been able to find employment. In December of 2021, he was invited to a company Christmas celebration. Employees were going to meet at a private residence and then proceed to a ski resort nearby.
Travis needed permission to attend and submitted an itinerary with all of the locations.
During a phone interview from a prison in Ohio, Travis told Channel 2's Claudine Ewing that he followed all the rule and wonders "why am I sitting in jail when I didn't commit a crime?"
2 On Your Side obtained a copy of his itinerary. It shows the address of the address of the ski resort and a residential address. It also shows the times he would leave and return home.
Travis never made it to the celebration at the ski resort. He said, "I received a phone call from the halfway house hours later, stating to get to the halfway house and don't be a minute late."
The incident report states that the monitoring system attached to his body detected he was at a private residence. According to the report, "Mr. Travis was approved to be at Holiday Valley Ski Resort ... for a work holiday party from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. He was not authorized to go to a private residence or another location. For being at a private residence, Mr. Travis is in violation of code 316. Being in an unauthorized area."
A worker at the halfway house wrote her account of what happened and had the statement notarized.
In her statement she said the itinerary was brought to the facility by a relative of Mr. Travis and approved by a manager. The worker said she put the schedule in and in the comment section wrote the address of the ski resort "for a work holiday party, approved by case manager."
When the worker spoke with Mr. Travis about his approval, he informed her that he would first be at a residence and then proceed to the resort. The worker said in her statement, "I did not put this information in the schedule nor did I put the extra address, which was written on the itinerary that his cousin turned in because I did not feel that the information was needed, and I just wanted to make sure the itinerary was put in."
She also wrote, "I was negligent in putting all of the necessary information in."
All of the addresses were listed on the itinerary.
Attorney Jeremy Schwartz represents Travis. When asked if this appears to be a clerical mistake, he said, "I do have statements from those individuals that that was, if anything, a clerical error, and nothing to do with something Mr. Travis did wrong."
Travis said he had a hearing. His lawyer was not present.
"I have significant concerns about the due process of that hearing," Schwartz said. "An individual in a halfway house does not have the same rights as you would in a normal federal court, but there is still due process rights that should be followed."
The Travis family is outraged. "He had a GPS monitor on his ankle. Why would anyone in their right mind go somewhere that you should not go," Harrita Travis said.
Buffalo councilman Ulysees Wingo said the Latorrance Travis case is "disconcerting" and "downright evil" over a clerical error that was admitted by the staff of that agency. He said "someone definitely needs to answer for this. I specifically asked that they do a fact finding investigation."
When 2 On Your Side called the halfway house in Buffalo, they were not allowed to speak about the case.
An email and calls to Community Resources for Justice resulted in several responses.
Here's the first response.
Statement from CRJ Vice President for Justice Services Ellen Donnarumma:
"On Dec. 18, Mr. Travis was found to be out of compliance with accountability protocols required under LightHouse’s contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which include adhering to a pre-approved daily itinerary and checking in with program staff when changing locations. Staff at the program reported the situation to the FBOP, as required by the contract, and did not recommend that he be returned to higher custody. However, FBOP made the decision to transfer Mr. Travis back to a federal prison facility.
We have completed an internal investigation and found no evidence of a clerical error or any indication that LightHouse staff failed to live up to the high standard of service we set for all of our programs.
We have encouraged Mr. Travis to appeal FBOP’s decision, and we will support him if he decides to do so."
When asked for clarification, 2 On Your Side received this response, which acknowledged they didn't know about the worker's letter admitting omission. "We were not aware of this letter until Tuesday when it was provided by a reporter."
"Senior staff who oversee operations across our reentry programs conducted a thorough investigation into this matter, including interviews with all staff involved. That investigation concluded that Mr. Travis was out of compliance with accountability protocols. The letter that appears to be signed by a CRJ staff member supports the findings of our investigation: Mr. Travis was approved to stop at one location on the way to a second. However, he was not approved to then return from the second location to the first, and he did not check in with the program when changing locations, as all clients are required to do, per the requirements of our contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. All clients are made aware of these protocols when they enter the program and follow them as part of their daily routine during their reentry transition."
The Travis family said they want accountability. "We want these people held accountable. Because you can't hold someone accountable for something if you're not holding yourself accountable."
CRJ is a non-profit agency.