A former Odessa police officer accused of using telephone numbers obtained through his official duties to contact women he had arrested allegedly sent sexually inappropriate messages, repeatedly drove past one woman’s home and later told investigators he contacted the women because he was lonely, according to new details reported by YourBasin.com.
Jody Max Baer, who resigned from the Odessa Police Department the morning of his Sept. 9 arrest, is charged with two counts of misuse of official information. An arrest affidavit says the alleged offenses occurred between Aug. 5 and Aug. 22.
The Big Bend Reporter previously reported Baer’s arrest and resignation. YourBasin.com has since obtained and reported details from the arrest affidavit describing the allegations and the Texas Rangers’ investigation.
According to YourBasin.com, the investigation began after a local attorney contacted a Texas Ranger on Sept. 1 on behalf of a woman who said she had received inappropriate text messages from someone she suspected was an Odessa police officer.
The woman, identified in the affidavit as Adult Victim No. 1, had previously been arrested by Baer.
The affidavit says the messages began Aug. 22 and included repeated comments about the woman’s appearance, including calling her “beautiful” and “sexy.” The sender also said he felt bad about arresting her.
Investigators subpoenaed records from TextNow and identified Baer as the subscriber and account holder associated with the number used to send the messages, according to the affidavit. An Odessa police captain confirmed Baer was an officer and had served as a field training officer during the woman’s arrest.
The woman also provided surveillance video showing a marked Odessa police patrol vehicle driving past her residence and shining a spotlight toward the front of the home, according to YourBasin.com. She received a text from Baer that same night asking whether she was home.
GPS records from Baer’s patrol vehicle showed it passed the woman’s residence five times over two days, the affidavit says.
Investigators subsequently identified four additional potential victims whom Baer had arrested or encountered through his work as a peace officer. One of those women, identified as Adult Victim No. 2, agreed to pursue charges.
The second woman told investigators Baer obtained her telephone number during her arrest. According to the affidavit, he first contacted her Aug. 5, and the messages became sexual shortly afterward. She eventually stopped communicating with him.
Both women told investigators they gave Baer their telephone numbers because he was a police officer and that the numbers were not publicly available.
Adult Victim No. 1 told investigators she felt unsafe and harassed and moved to another residence because of the messages. Adult Victim No. 2 said she felt unsafe and victimized and had “lost trust” in law enforcement.
Baer acknowledged during an interview with investigators that he obtained both women’s telephone numbers when he arrested them and contacted them afterward, according to the affidavit. Investigators said he also acknowledged the messages were inappropriate and admitted sending sexual messages and a photograph to Adult Victim No. 2.
According to the affidavit, Baer told investigators he contacted the women because he was lonely.
Investigators allege Baer used information available to him through his position as a public servant for a nongovernmental purpose by using the women’s previously nonpublic telephone numbers to contact them personally after their arrests.
Baer was arrested Sept. 9 and later released from jail on bonds totaling $40,000.
The allegations contained in an arrest affidavit are accusations supported by investigators’ assertions of probable cause and are not findings of guilt. Baer is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
