Keep Bailing

A 45-year old Michigan man has been taken into custody after he rammed his car into the side of a jail in the northern part of the state.  The suspect reportedly did this over and over again in hopes of freeing a female friend.  Helping a friend or family member escape from jail or prison is illegal.

Defendant Derek Lavis is being charged with malicious destruction of a building and attempted aiding of a prisoner’s escape.  A judge has set his bail at $1 million.  If he or a family member wants to arrange million dollar bail bonds they will need to hire an expert bondsman.  The bondsman will charge the cosigner a nonrefundable fee equal to a set percentage of the million dollar bail amount.  That fee will be considered earned in full at the time the defendant is released from custody.  It will not be refunded no matter what happens with Lavis’ case.  The cosigner will also need to Read more »

 Some people have a harder time giving up their nicotine habit than others.  Sacramento County jail officials have confirmed they are currently detaining a suspect who says she tried everything to give up cigarettes.  This is what led 31 year-old Etta Lopez to take more serious action.

A spokesperson for the facility said Lopez drove herself to a local sheriff’s station and sat outside in the parking lot for several hours.  This confused deputies at first, but her reasoning became clear after she walked up and slapped one of them in the face.  The defendant was handcuffed, taken inside and booked into the system. During that time she told the deputy she decided to administer the slap in order to get arrested.  She went on to say she felt that going to jail would hep her quit smoking.   The booking sheet indicates the woman went into great detail as to her need to kick cigarettes.

Lopez is currently being held at the Sacramento County jail on an Read more »

A source within the Los Angeles Police Department has confirmed that Police Chief Charlie Beck has reassigned three deputies.  This includes the department’s head of internal affairs.  Beck is hopeful that the shuffle will help provide new perspective within the LAPD.

The soon to be former internal affairs leader, Deputy Chief Mark Perez, will be replaced by Deputy Chief Debra McCarthy.  McCarthy was formerly charged with commanding the LAPD West Bureau.  Perez will ow serve as the head of human resources training.  Deputy Chief Terry Hara will take over McCarthy’s former position.  A spokesperson said the switch will go into effect in approximately two weeks.

Beck reportedly told a local newspaper that the decision was made in hopes of Read more »

Data from the California Department of Corrections shows that in the past two years, approximately 50% fewer drug offenders are serving time in state prisons.  Instead, these inmates are serving their sentences in county facilities, such as the Twin Towers Jail in Los Angeles.

The reason for the switch is largely tied to the state’s inmate realignment program.  Starting in October 2011, non-violent, non-serious and non-sexual offenders began being transferred from state prisons to county facilities.  The shift came after the US Supreme Court ordered California prisons to drastically reduce inmate populations.  Statistics show that as of the end of 2012, approximately 12,400 state prisoners were convicted on drug offenses.  In late 2010, that number was at about 25,000.

Jail officials say they are detaining fewer drug offenders than they were in years past.  Data shows that this number has dropped nearly 60% in the past five years. Many believe that incarcerating people for low-level non-serious crimes is not a good use of taxpayer dollars.  By keeping these individuals near their families and allowing them to have access to rehabilitation programs, future problems can Read more »

Many California jails have been struggling to deal with inmate overcrowding since the state’s prisoner realignment went into effect.  The program was implemented in late 2011 and mandated certain prisoners be transferred to county facilities to serve out the remainder of their sentences.   Some jails have begun to release low-level local offenders before their sentences are up.  Others, like the Robert Presley Detention Center are starting to release inmates via GPS monitoring device.

Jail officials said approximately 400 Riverside residents are currently outfitted with ankle bracelets.  At the same time, they point that not everyone who applies for this type of release will get it.   Deputies say each candidate needs to undergo a criminal background screen, are required to live in the county or within close proximity, must commit to spend at least 12 hours per day at their primary residence and can pay the daily monitoring fee.  Sentenced detainees are ineligible. Only persons who are pre-trial or pre0sentenced are able to apply.  All applicants need court approval before they can be outfitted with a GPS bracelet.

Deputies say they can check the status of an inmate via Read more »

Elected officials are still interviewing candidates to fill the soon-to-be-vacant Chief position at the Calexico Police Department.  The current frontrunner is Pompeyo Tabarez.  Tabarez retired from the Imperial County Sheriff’s Department a few years ago and has since been working as a community college professor.  Other candidates include Calipatria Police Chief Regie Gomez, Retired San Diego Police Department sergeant Juan Rivera, Cocopah Tribal Police Chief James Spurgeon and former Indio Police Chief Brad Ramos.

Gomez retired approximately 4 years ago but worked with his department for about 9 years before hanging up his hat.  He received an unfavorable annual review from members of the City Council and his job was speculated to be on the line.  No action was taken against him but Gomez chose to resign approximately 30 days later.

Ramos has a long tenure in the field of law enforcement.  He worked in Calexico for 14 years before transferring to Indio.  He was reportedly fired from that position.   A department spokesperson has not issued a formal statement outlining Read more »

Restaurants, businesses and tourist attractions have long been reviewed on Yelp.  Now, it seems, inmates have begun sounding off about their experience at the Orange County Jail.  Some say the staff are rude, the food portions are too small and that conditions are overcrowded.  Others describe their experience as being average, saying that jailers are power hungry but the facilities are clean.

One man rated his detention experience as being five stars.  A local attorney said he started writing jail reviews because it gave him something to pass the time while he waited to visit clients.  He feels that the reviews can be helpful for other attorneys, bail bonds professionals and relatives of those who are behind bars.  Granted, jail reviews aren’t like reviews of theaters or shopping centers.  Many of the posts are tongue-in-cheek.  At the same time, some Yelpers have begun reviewing public restrooms.  Some might consider jail reviews to be the next obvious step.

It is unclear exactly how many jails have Read more »

A six year-old Michigan boy is home safe after stealing his parents car and asking police to take him to jail.

The incident took place last week after the young man swiped his dad’s car keys while he was sleeping.  The parents told police they usually keep them on top of the refrigerator but their son had managed to locate a spare set.   Drivers near I-96 spotted the young man traveling on local roadways at slow speeds.  They placed a call to police to alert them something was wrong.

When officers arrived to the scene they found the car had been pulled over and was idling alongside of the road.  The boy told them he was taking the car to a repair shop because his dad had hit something earlier that day.  He apologized for his actions and requested police take him to jail.   Officers said they were surprised he had been driving Read more »

Authorities have confirmed that more than 5,000 of the state’s registered sex offenders have removed their GPS monitoring devices since October 2011.  Offenders who are on parole but are still considered to be high-risk are required to wear tracking bracelets.

So why the big jump?  Jailers say that October 2011 is when the state’s prisoner realignment was implemented.  Under that program certain offenders have started being transferred from state prisons to county jails.   In the 15 months prior to the realignment, the Department of Corrections issued about 3,100 warrants for this offense.  In the 15 months after, that number jumped by nearly 60%.
Before the realignment the California Department of Corrections reportedly said they were able to capture the bulk of these offenders within 12 days.  Now, that process is taking a lot longer.  Parolees are also aware that if they are captured, they will be sent to a county, not state detention centers.  Many see this as a cake-walk compared to being detained in prison they don’t feel it’s a very big consequence for having a few hours or days of complete freedom.

At least one state senator has drafted legislation that when passed, would mandate parolees who cut off GPS devices be returned to prison.  The Senate Public Safety Committee is scheduled to discuss the matter in the upcoming weeks.  It is unclear when the matter will be put up for a formal vote.

Proponents of the plan point to a recent incident where this type of offender who removed his tracking device and proceeded to murder a family member.  He is currently being detained at the Fresno County Jail.

The former leader of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department who was  convicted of witness tampering will not get an early prison release.  Michael Carona is currently being detained in a Colorado detention center.  He was sentenced to serve 5 and half years in Littleton, CO in early 2011.

The Englewood Federal Correctional Institution is also where former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is being detained.

Carona’s attorneys reportedly filed a motion requesting early release late last year.  His legal team argued that he was improperly sentenced by a US district judge who misinterpreted language in a US Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the legal definition of “kickback”.   The appeals board disagreed.   That judge said that Carona’s sentence was earned.  He betrayed the trust of the people tho elected him to serve as the leader of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
The former OC Sheriff served in that capacity from 1999 until 2009.  Prosecutors indicted him in 2007 on charges of Read more »