Howdy Yall. For those of you who dont know me let me introduce myself. My name is Andy Blauser and I im a street Deputy for a Sheriff's Office in the greater Houston Area. I have dedicated my entire adult life to being a police officer with the goal in mind of helping any person that I could find in need, protecting innocent people, and doing my best to mitigate the chaos that evil brings to our lives. I absolutly LOVE what I do for a living and the only thing that truly brings me satisfation in my life is helping others. The story im about to tell you has caused me great stress for most of this year and I am very reluctant to tell it, but I am left with no choice. 

The night of March 19th 2017, is a night that I will never forget. It all started at around midnight. I had just recently taken a Human Trafficking class and I was patrolling Interstate 10 with the general goal of locating human smugglers. I had a car pulled over and the vehicle exited the interstate and ended up next to a side street just off the interstate. I was conducting my business when I noticed a young man, lets call him Marcus, up the street a ways, digging in a trashcan. I concluded my traffic stop and I went over to Marcus and asked him what he was doing. Marcus told me that he had run away from home. I asked for Marcus' ID and he hands me a California ID card, showing that he was 18 years old. (due to his age he does not fit the legal criteria as a runaway). I asked Marcus where he was staying and he informed me that a nice man was letting him stay with him. I offered to take Marcus back over to the house he was staying at due to the fact that the part of town he was in is known for heavy drug activity and armed robbery. When I arrive at the house I speak with the man who lives there. I asked if Marcus could continue staying the night there and the man declined saying "its probably best if he doesnt stay here anymore". The man refused to elaborate. (That should have been my first clue). I then asked Marcus if he had any money with him so that he could get a hotel room. Marcus advised me that he had a debit card but was unsure how much money was on it.

I was able to get in contact with Marcus' aunt who informed me that Marcus may be suffering from undiagnosed mental issues and his mother was on her way from California to Texas to come and get him. (should have been clue number 2). Not wanting this young man to be out wondering through a dangerous part of town at night, I took him to the Super 8 Motel. I explained to the clerk the situation and he offered a discounted rate of $60 dollars. He tried to run Marcus' debit card, and it declined with only $27 on the account. 

That's when I unknowingly made one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I provide my personal credit card and I purchase the room for Marcus. I give Marcus some advice about not putting his mother through the pain of not knowing where her child is. I made him call his mother and I left him at the Motel. I went back to patrolling. 

Over the course of my 5 year career I estimate I have given hotel rooms with the help of shifts mates, to about 10 other individuals, most were ones I found in the Texas Panhandle when I was a Deputy up there and found elderly homeless people wondering in blizzards. I NEVER expected what happened next. 

I get a call from the Super 8 and its the front desk requesting that I come down there due to fact that alot of loud noises are coming from Marcus' room. I was far away from the hotel, and I had a local PD officer run by and check on him. When the Officer showed up to the room it became apperant that Marcus was DESTROYING the room and had barricaded the door. By the time the manager had opened the door and the Officer had made his way in, the room looked like Ozzy Osborne had just been there. IT WAS DESTROYED. TV stand was broke in half, the AC and wires had been torn from the wall, the bathroom mirror had been shattered, the toilet bowl cover had been used as a sledgehammer on dry wall, the refridgerator, microwave, TV were all missing, untill I looked out the second story window. All of those items had been thrown out to the courtyard below. Literally everything had been destroyed other then the bed which remained untouched. There were even marks around fire supression sprinkler which was on the ceiling indicating that Marcus had tried to break that too, which would have flooded the entire second floor of the Hotel. 

The total damages later would come out to $4236.87. ALL on my credit card. 

Marcus was arrested for Felony Criminal Mischief and was taken to jail by the responding Officer. 

Then the nightmare really started. I made contact with Marcus' mother who assured me that once she got to town she would go down the the Hotel and switch the credit card out of my name. I assisted her in finding the Jail and guiding her through the process of securing bail. By the time that she arrived from California to bail out Marcus, I was already home and asleep but told her I could meet her at the hotel. By the time I woke up for shift that night, I noticed that I had no missed calls from either Marcus or his mother. I called her and I could hear the sound of a vehicle moving down the highway, she was on her wayback to California with Marcus and informed me she had no itention of paying. 

Over the course of the next few months, I had a ray of hope as Marcus had paid $500 dollars to the total damage that he caused out of $4236.87. This was paid directly to the hotel who was kind enough to not charge my credit card immediatly. He assured me that he would be paying on a month by month basis. Those payments ended in May. To date, I have paid $1500 dollars out of my pocket. Now as of June 1st, Marcus informed me that he was broke and moving to Denver, Colorado. He again lied to me and stated he was getting a loan to pay the hotel. I havent heard from him in 75 days. 

Now, I have contacted lawyers who advised that this is not a good case as I signed the liability waiver. The hotel states that their insurance wont kick in because it is under the $5000 dollar cutoff. I have treaded water with this as long as I can. I have been working extra off duty jobs to try and keep up. My main concern is I have a baby coming at the end of Novemeber and have been working nearly everyday for the last two months. 

Through this I have been pitied, laughed at, and everything in between. It is a mistake that I will never make again. I have to be honest, this whole experience has changed my outlook on humanity and has damaged my view of the world. If anyone feels in their heart the desire to help, I would be eternally grateful. 

I plan to use the funds to pay the Super 8 Motel Directly. 

Thanks in advance. God Bless, 

Andy