Although a number of residents have voiced opposition to the plan Sheriff’s officials maintain that the facility will “continue to house minimum security inmates” only.   The expansion is needed, they said, due to the state’s prison realignment program.  Proponents of the plan have pointed out that Orange County jails received close to 300 new inmates during the first month of implementation alone.

Eventually, plans for the facility would include expanding the 1,250-bed facility to 7,500 beds.  The cost to operate the expanded facility would be approximately $28 million per year.  Sources within the Sheriff’s Department said that funding sources have already been identified.

At current, the James A. Musick jail is commanded by Captain Dana Bergquist and provides rehabilitative activities and housing for minimum-security inmates.  Egg farming and vegetable growing are among the activities emphasized.

The prisoner population consists largely of persons charged with misdemeanor crimes such as DUI offenses or minor drug possession.  Persons convicted of violent felonies are generally not permitted to serve their time at this facility as they are considered “unsuitable”.

Persons wishing to visit inmates at the James A. Musick jail are able to do so Friday through Sunday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.  Visitors are required to pass through metal detectors, are subject to search and are required to have a valid ID.  Overly-revealing clothing is not permitted and visitors carrying contraband or who have outstanding warrants will be promptly arrested.

The 2006 beating reportedly occurred because the defendants believed the inmate to be a child molester. Jurors found Garret Eugene Aguilar, Stephen Paul Carlstrom, Jared Louis Petrovich, Miguel Angel Guillen, and Raul Villafana,  guilty of the crime.  They all face 15 years to life.

“A grand jury probe concluded that the beating death grew out of an institutional culture that allowed inmates to run the jails while deputies watched television and slept at times,” wrote OC City News Service reporter Paul Anderson. “[Former OC Sheriff's deputy Kevin Taylor] has been accused of watching ‘Cops’ and text-messaging during the beating, just about 68-feet away from the blind spot at the jail.” Prosecutors issued a scathing report on how the jails are run after the beating, but never charged any of the guards.

Another three other men, Michael Stewart Garten,  Christopher Teague, and Jeremy Dezso Culmann, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in January. Defendant Eric Charles Miller is being tried separately.  Miller has been charged with murder.

When you think of Orange County Jail perhaps you think of recent headlines about inmate beatings and overcrowding or perhaps you’ve seen explosive television where the OC Sheriff’s Department is working hard to rebuild it’s image only to have the worst happen. In either case, my guess is you don’t think about song and joy.

Greg Rynerson Bail Bonds continues with the fifth in our series on California jails: Inside Orange County James Musick Jail. Musick, Orange County’s Irvine detention facility, gets “rocked” by “Bobby Cash” (aka Bob Millspaugh, singer and acoustic guitar player) on the third Friday of every month. No, you can’t buy tickets, but we’ll take you Inside The Jail.

Is there a jail you’d like to know more about? Let us know. We’ll get you “Inside” (or, if you need we’ll get you out!).

“Police officers get a bad rap all the time,” said Weekes. “But I’ve come to realize that all they are trying to do is keep the community safe.”

This is the third graduating class from the six-week program which was held on Saturdays. Students get a chance to tackle obstacle courses, utilize problem-solving skills in hypothetical scenarios, and find out the amount of force that should be used against suspects.

According to the head of the program, Sgt. Dave Dattola, the goal of the program is to teach young people “about ethics, decision-making and consequences.”

A lot of the students in this special program have already shown an interest in joining the Department’s Explorer program or pursuing a career in law enforcement.

“But what we teach in here, the principles of integrity, perseverance and honor, really apply to any filed,” said Dattola.

Nearly 40 percent of the participants in this year’s program were girls. Maira Soria, 17, from Hillview High in Tustin said she was most excited about the K9 unit.

“I love dogs,” she said. “What these officers do is really interesting. That’s something I would love to pursue.”

This program has been beneficial in providing role models for the students. Pat Weekes, mother of a student, said, “It was really important for him to interact with not only his peers but these positive role models. I have seen a change in him over the last few weeks. I see a lot more respect and a little less attitude.”

Tuesday morning, former Orange County Sheriff, Michael S. Carona, surrendered himself to authorities located in Littleton, Colorado.

Carona is facing a 5 ½ year sentence due to a 2007 felony charge of corruption dealing with witness tampering while he was serving on the Orange County Sheriff Department. Carona’s trial took place over a two month span back in 2009 in Santa Ana, where prosecutors argued that Carona had been accepting cash payments, participated in illicit sexual affairs and gave badges to campaign contributors as well as allowed them to carry concealed-weapon licenses.

Carona, however, was acquitted from five of the six charges but was still found guilty of encouraging Deputy Don Haidl to lie to the grand jury. Furthermore, both Carona’s wife, Deborah Carona and his mistress, Debra Hoffman, faced similar charges but were dropped after the acquittal of Michael Carona.

Carona had been set free on bail after appealing his conviction. At that time, judges determined that Carona was not a flight risk and let him remain free until the starting of his sentence.

This month, a federal appeals court consisting of a three-judge panel, decided to uphold the conviction and demanded for Carona to surrender. Carona will be serving his time in a four-to-six man bunk area in a prison that holds no fencing and basically, allows convicts to perform landscape duties, take college classes and use exercise equipment.

Since that incident, Assistant Sheriff Tim Board indicated that a lot has changed within the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the manner in which they use force.  This is being attributed to the newly appointed Sheriff Sandra Hutchens as the motivator reform with the OC Sheriff Department.

Board says Hutchens has already done a lot for the department.  She understands processes of accountability and risk management.  He went on to say that they are a completely different department since the 2006 Fleuret incident.

Orange County has had other problems and incidents as well. (See Orange County Jail Bail Scams, Bondsmen Sue Orange County Jail, Theo Lacy Jail Guards Accused as reference.) Between 2004 and 2007 there were over 400 reports where jail staff used tasers on inmates.

Sheriff Hutchens was responsible for reviewing the “use-of-force” policy and brought it up to industry standards.  Board said the “use-of-force” training programs have been updated as well.  The department’s sergeants and lieutenants have gone through extensive 16 hour training programs, and that deputies are now in the process.

The Orange County Sheriff has been advised that those changes do not go far enough, and to limit the use of tasers to life or death, or serious injury incidents, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

The decision to “cite and release” inmates from Orange County jails has led to over 400 criminals being put back onto the streets without having to post bail or provide any further court guarantees. Many of the inmates who are released this way flee. This ‘unsafe practice’ has been put into action and instituted by the court in an effort to relieve jail overcrowding. However, it is said that the overcrowding issue no longer exists, as there are 1,400 open jail beds.

As a function of the criminal justice system, Hunt states that criminal attorneys and bail bondsman have been put in place to keep problems like this at bay. They are ‘private alternatives’ which provide a much needed public service, contribute to the economy and help save tax payer dollars.

When released on bail, the defendant is held responsible to the bail bondsman who keeps tabs on them until they are seen in court.  When released early or cited out, these defendants don’t have an incentive to return to court as no one is keeping bids on them. There are approximately 23,160 felony and 111,690  misdemeanor warrants outstanding without any agency currently being held responsible.

Hunt, who is a candidate for O.C. Sheriff, discounts the decision of Sheriff  Hutchens to possibly lease any open jail beds to the federal government in order to house criminal illegal aliens. He states, “How can anyone argue the interim sheriff’s plan is in the best interest of public safety in this county… It is time to stop bailing out the federal government for their failures on illegal immigration enforcement.” Hunt refers to the closing of the Orange County Women’s jail to “sell” space for federal prisoners.

Should the general public be worried that these newly released criminals may soon be lurking in their neighborhoods? Who should carry the burden of this issue?  What are your thoughts on the subject? Let us know.

Reportedly, Judge Steven Perk wants the final decision left in the hands of Sheriff Sandra Hutchens stating, “How do I issue an order to the board of supervisors telling the sheriff how to run the jail… if I don’t have jurisdiction over that person, then I don’t have the authority.”

The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs wanted to put a stop to a new law that was put in effect last month.  The new law allows a reduction in inmate sentences by up to half through ‘good behaviour credits.’

Initially, the law was put forth to ease the overcrowding in prisons and save millions of state budget dollars.  But the sheriff’s union argument spoke to how this move could endanger the public. The Crime Victims United of California group filed a lawsuit claiming the new early release law jeopardizes the public and is unconstitutional.

The decision has also created confusion with local law enforcement officials.  The quandry is to whether the law applies to both county jails as well as state prisons. Over 1,500 have been released from California County jails since the new law came to effect on Jan. 25th of last year. The legislation was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Next month, Judge Perk will have another hearing on whether or not to block any further early releases. 

We’ll have to wait and see what happens. Hopefully, our decision makers won’t make the move that sends the crime makers back on to the streets.

Television’s “The O.C.” and “Real Housewives” may have put Orange County California on the media map, but Orange County Police Departments have an interesting history that dates back to the Wild West.  The county can trace its beginnings back to 1887, when silver was discovered in the Santa Ana Mountains, attracting settlers. As people came to California in droves, seeking their fortunes or just to settle and build a new life, the California Legislator was overwhelmed by the influx of these new arrivals. 

And so, they decided to divide Los Angeles County into two back in 1899, creating Orange County as a separate political entity. The county is supposedly named after –what else — oranges, but since they already had a town named Orange here, the county may have been named for this city.  Like many other places in the west, law enforcement was conducted by sheriffs and marshals until the needs of these settlements grew too big for just a few good men to handle.  And so, OC law enforcement also expanded and grew into more sophisticated, full fledged Police Departments.

Orange County also happens to be the smallest county in Southern California. But despite its size, it has many police departments and they, in turn, have a wide variety of resources. Some OC cities run their own independent department while others contract with another city or with the County Sheriff’s Department.  But one thing they all have in common is their dedication to providing great services for their citizens.  They do this by working closely with other local, state, federal law enforcement and community agencies as well as many citizen groups, in a structure model called Community Policing.

Community Policing engages officers with the public by assigning patrol men and women, Detectives and traffic officers to a specific geographic area or “police beat” for a specific length of time.  The advantage here is that it gives these officers the opportunity to become more familiar and emotionally connected to the people that live and work in their area.  A special emphasis is placed on the “Quality of Life” issues that affect each of these communities, like traffic, noise and vandalisms.

Working on, understanding and being able to problem solve area-specific issues has definitely strengthened the officers ties, and this is evidenced by the fact that many police care so much, they have volunteered their off duty time to local youth programs and community groups.  The results have been very positive for all involved.

The Orange County Police Departments incorporates several ethical values into their law enforcement work, too.  Some of these, like courage, duty and commitment are fairly obvious.  But emphasis is also placed on organizational growth and teamwork.

Most OC Police Departments also have several divisions within their ranks.  These include, but are not limited to, K-9 Units, Animal Control Services, 9-1-1 Dispatch/Communications, Crime Prevention, SWAT Teams, Bicycle Units, Traffic, Records, Administrative and Patrol.

Most of these local departments do not have on-site jail facilities so they utilize Orange County’s incarceration facilities: the Central Jail Complex, Theo Lacy Jail and the James A Musick Jail.

The OC Sheriff’s Department, rather than the police, is contracted to handle the jails and even the law enforcement needs of many of their cities.  Regardless, all of the Orange County law enforcement agencies must be doing something right because a lot of cities in Orange County are consistently voted the safest places to live in the entire USA.

Matthew Van McDaniel plowed into the James A. Musick Jail and got out of his car, which he left in gear, still running.  The car then hit a tree on the jail campus.

McDaniel, who makes his living as a dancer, managed to successfully pirouette away from the sergeant he attacked, but other deputies soon arrested him on the spot.

“It’s the first time somebody tried to break into the jail,” Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino said.

Now McDaniel is no longer able to dance around the law.  He is being held on drunk driving, assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and unspecified weapons charges. The jail and the gate were not damaged, but the sergeant he attacked no doubt has a damaged ego.