I Was A Prison Guard Secretly Shooting Heroin | SWAT Raided My Trap House While I Was In Uniform

Andrew Gautreau grew up in a middle-class Louisiana family — a dad who built his own business and a mother who worked in child services, sometimes bringing him along as she pulled kids out of crack houses and placed them in foster care. He saw exactly what drugs did to families before he ever touched them. He went anyway. It started with weed and ecstasy at high school parties, the first time he ever felt comfortable in his own skin. But the twist in Andrew's story is what came next: he became a corrections officer, working the dorms of Louisiana prisons — one guard to 120 inmates — while secretly getting high. He was buying pills at a known trap house, still in his prison uniform after a shift, when a SWAT team kicked in the door and put everyone on the ground. He talked his way out of that one. He was arrested again, still employed as a CO, and finally quit the job when he realized how close he was to smuggling drugs into the prison himself. From there it accelerated into full-blown heroin addiction and the needle. Andrew describes hundred-dollar-a-day Roxy habits, a string of arrests, work-release programs, and finally total collapse: homeless, living in the backseat of an old Honda Civic, robbing and breaking into houses to keep using. He overdosed in a Dollar General parking lot and woke up in the hospital having lost his hearing from oxygen deprivation. Days later he overdosed again in his parents' house, went septic, and spent two weeks in the hospital hallucinating. Then one night he walked into his mother's room and said the words he'd said a hundred times before — "I'm ready" — except this time it stuck. His brother had just gotten sober too. On March 1st, nine years ago, Andrew got clean, and he says it didn't just save his life — it brought his entire family back together. Sponsored by Caron Treatment Centers My recovery journey began at Caron Treatment Centers, and the care I received there changed the course of my life. That's why I'm proud to partner with Caron. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, Caron has been helping individuals and families find hope and lasting recovery for nearly 70 years. They are in-network with all major insurance providers, and same-day admission is available. ➡️ Learn more: https://www.caron.org/lp/rise-above 📞 Call Caron today: 855-352-0103 Recovery starts with taking the first step. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices