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Jail crowding is mix of repeat offenders, those awaiting trial
Walter Ray Beal
Peter D. Garcia
Juan Ramirez
Steve Scheeror
George Williams
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Jail's top five `frequent fliers'
Between 2001 and 2007, five men spent the most days in the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center at a cost of $52 to $66 a day - no medical or other expenses included.
The five are what Chief of Corrections Ron Torres calls his top five "frequent fliers" and an example of the causes of jail overcrowding.
Walter Ray Beal, 56
Total stay: 945 days
Room and board: $56,331
Longest stay: In jail since April 7 serving a sentence until February 2008 on a warrant for failing to appear in court on a charge of possession of crack for a total of 318 days, costing $18,762.
Typical charges: soliciting people and businesses for money; blocking traffic; urinating in public; possession of crack cocaine and paraphernalia; 29 warrants for failure to appear.
George Williams, 62
Total stay: 479 days
Room and board: $27,978
Longest stay: 218 days at $12,862 for failing to appear on charges of possessing drugs and paraphernalia and tampering with evidence.
Typical charges: soliciting people for money; obstructing traffic; concealing ID; possession of drugs and paraphernalia; 54 warrants for failure to appear.
Juan Ramirez, 45
Total stay: 1,350 days
Room and board: $78,138
Longest stay: 167 days at $9,853 on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Typical charges: domestic violence; disorderly conduct; drinking in public; 27 warrants for failure to appear.
Peter D. Garcia, 49
Total stay: 845 days (plus three arrests in 2007, and is currently in jail)
Room and board: $47,349
Longest stay: 182 days at $10,010 on a warrant for failing to appear in court for a charge of obstructing traffic.
Typical charges: criminal trespassing; drinking in public; the only DWI charge among the top five; 71 warrants for failure to appear.
Steve Scheeror, 53
Total stay: 475 days
Room and board: $27,316
Longest stay: 90 days at $5,040 on three warrants for charges of obstructing traffic, disorderly conduct and soliciting a ride.
Typical charges: public nuisance; soliciting money and rides; 56 warrants for failure to appear.
Source: Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center
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Causes of overcrowding at the county jail are numerous and nebulous, but now some of them have a face.
Officials at Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center have compiled a list of the top five "frequent fliers" who, over the last five years, have returned to jail time and again.
Altogether, the five - all men, and almost all serving time for nonviolent offenses - have cost taxpayers $237,112 for their combined 4,094 days in jail. That figure doesn't include the cost of medical care received in jail and the time of police, court and social workers.
Jail officials said they developed the list to help police, judges and the public better understand what they see as one of the main problems at the jail: repeat offenders, many of whom are homeless and mentally ill.
Law enforcement officials, including Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, say they understand the problem cited by the jail, but said officers aren't about to stop arresting people who are causing problems in the community.
And Metro Court system members, including Homeless Court leader Judge Victoria Grant, say they have for years been making efforts to help homeless, mentally ill and drug-addicted people stay out of jail and in specialized court programs.
The Metro Detention Center, which opened in 2002, has become a center of attention as its average daily population has swelled well over its official capacity of 2,236. Earlier this week, it had more than 2,700 inmates.
But 45 percent of those booked into jail in the last five years have been repeat offenders, many of them following the pattern of the top five, according to Ron Torres, the county's chief of corrections.
"I'm afraid to think about what it would be like without some of the successes out there - mental health court, DWI court," Torres said, noting some of the specialized court programs designed to reduce jail crowding. "But there is just more we can do."
In addition to the repeat offenders, the jail population is exploding because of other factors, according to jail reports:
• An overloaded court system is taking an average of six to seven months to complete cases.
• From July 2006 to April, 48 percent of the people being held were awaiting trial in state District Court or in Metro Court on felony charges.
In that same time period, on average, 80 percent of the people booked every month had been charged with misdemeanors including DWI, or misdemeanor warrants for charges such as traffic tickets.
• The jail held an average of 741 inmates for an average 4 months on parole or probation violation, the cost of which jail leaders claim should be reimbursed by the state or inmates held in state facilities.
Acknowledging the problem is the first step, Torres said, and it might be easier for people if they can see real-life cases on the top five list, not anecdotal testimony.
"I don't think there is any quick fix or silver bullet to fix this," Torres said.
He is hoping to organize a summit for police, judges, prosecutors, public defenders and others in the criminal justice system and the community at large to gather ideas on solving the causes of the problems feeding overpopulation at the jail.
White said he'd be happy to sit down with jail and court folks to brainstorm solutions, but said his deputies and other law enforcement aren't about to stop arresting people.
"That is a damned if you do and damned if you don't, and I never second-guess an officer who makes that decision (to arrest)," White said.
Albuquerque Police Department spokesman John Walsh echoed White.
"There is no easy fix," Walsh said.
Judge Grant said some of the revolving-door jail inmates have such severe problems that they couldn't succeed in the Mental Health Court or Homeless Court or other specialized programs, which require a willing and able participant.
The answer for the jail population like the frequent fliers, Grant Torres, Walsh and White agree, needs to be found.
