A total of 445 inmates have been released from the San Benito County Jail since March 9, according to Captain Tony Lamonica, who told BenitoLink that half of the jail population has been released early. In order for an inmate to be considered for early release, he said it depends on their charges, when they were sentenced, and how much time they have left on their sentence.
As of the end of August, nearly 8,000 inmates would be eligible for early release throughout California due to COVID-19, according to a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) press release. This is in addition to the 10,000 already released since the beginning of the pandemic.
“If an individual is arrested on fresh charges and depending on their charges, they can be released with a court date within a few hours of being booked,” Lamonica said.
There have been two instances where convicted individuals showed COVID-19 symptoms prior to incarceration. Lamonica said that the jail has not had any inmates test positive for the virus.
“With the assistance of Whole Person Care San Benito Health & Human Services, we released the arrestees on EMP [Electronic Monitoring Program] pretrial release to spend their 14-day quarantine time in trailers on Southside Road and then they were retested,” he said. “Once their quarantine time was up, the two arrestees returned to jail.”
If an inmate who is already incarcerated tests positive, Lamonica said the public health department would be notified and the patient would be quarantined in the jail, not released into the community. So far, no inmates have been transferred to Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Inmates, as well as deputies and civilian personnel, are only tested if they show symptoms of the coronavirus, Lamonica said, adding that deputies and civilians can also elect to be tested on their own.
The breakdown of inmates released includes 368 males and 77 females. Among the male inmates, 211 were incarcerated for misdemeanors and 157 for felonies, while there were 46 females who committed misdemeanors and 31 felonies.
If those being released are considered non-violent, Lamonica said victims would not be notified unless they had a victim notification on file. Those who have been convicted of a violent felony and were supposed to be transferred to state prisons will, for the time being, remain in the county jail.
Convictions were wide-ranging, and crimes were committed predominantly by males. Here is a breakdown:
- Weapons—16 male
- DUI—77 male, 21 female
- Assaults—83 male, 24 female
- Probation—38 male, three female
- Drugs—83 male, 15 female
- Vehicle codes—four male, two female
- Vandalism—eight male, two female
- Sexual assault—five male
- Theft—24 male, four female
- Trespassing—10 male, one female
- Restraining order violations—eight male
- Resisting arrest—nine male, five female
CDCR has been tracking COVID-19 related issues since March 11 when all normal visitations were canceled throughout the state. On March 26, CDCR introduced a COVID-19 tracking tool showing the number of cases among the state prison population, including law enforcement personnel. On May 31, the agency announced the first death of a correctional officer who worked at Mule Creek State Prison and died from complications related to COVID-19. (NOTE: BenitoLink was notified on 8-27-20 that the information on the Mule Creek prison officer death provided by CDCR is incorrect.)
There have been nine COVID-19-related deaths of state prison staff members as of Aug. 9, and as of Aug. 25, there are 10,138 confirmed cases among inmates, with 1,246 active cases while in custody. There have been 57 prisoner deaths, with the majority of them at San Quentin State Prison.
On Aug. 11, CDCR expanded the number of correctional institutions identified as medically high-risk whose inmates with 365 days or less to serve may be eligible for expedited release: California Men’s Colony, California State Prison-Los Angeles County, Mule Creek State Prison, and California State Prison-Solano. Previously identified prisons included: San Quentin State Prison, Central California Women’s Facility, California Health Care Facility, California Institution for Men, California Institution for Women, California Medical Facility, Folsom State Prison, and Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.
BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is working around the clock during this time when accurate information is essential. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s news.
Other related BenitoLink stories:
County jail releases over one hundred detainees since pandemic
County jail releases 35 inmates vulnerable to COVID-19
Jail expansion plans move forward