Closed Door Sends 1st Wave of Suspects to Vista County Jail

Misdemeanor suspects were taken Friday by some law enforcement agencies to the County Jail in Vista for booking, responding to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department’s decision to no longer accept them at the central jail.

An agreement also was reached between the Sheriff’s Department and law enforcement authorities in the southern part of the county that allows them to take drunk-driving suspects to the “quick release” section of the central jail at night and on weekends.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Sgt. Liz Foster said police departments must decide how to handle suspected drunk drivers who are arrested during weekday hours.

For example, the San Diego Police Department will take suspected drunk drivers to the County Jail in Vista because it does not have temporary cells for misdemeanor suspects, Deputy Chief Manuel Guaderrama said.

Beginning at 3:30 p.m. Friday when the downtown County Jail officially closed its doors to misdemeanor suspects, San Diego police started transporting prisoners once an hour in three vans to the County Jail in Vista.

Law enforcement agencies in San Diego, East County and South Bay were notified late Wednesday of the sheriff’s decision to limit the downtown County Jail’s population to 750 by not accepting any more misdemeanor bookings. The central jail already had been refusing most misdemeanor suspects, all but the “serious” cases. The sheriff must keep the central jail’s population under 750 because of a 1980 court order.

But late Friday, Superior Court Judge James Malkus issued an order allowing the San Diego County sheriff’s department to exceed the limit. He said they could “exercise discretion” in booking and detaining people charged with misdemeanors at the central detention facility. The temporary order, to be reviewed Apr. 23, applies to people considered dangerous or violent, according to a brief statement released by the sheriff’s department.

Guaderrama said officers will have two choices: write up citations and release the individual, or arrest an alleged offender and transport that person to Vista.

The Chula Vista Police Department will not make the 60-mile trip to Vista, deciding instead to hold suspects until they are released on their own recognizance.

“We have no plans to transport anyone to Vista at this time,” said Chula Vista Police Lt. Merlin Wilson. “We’re going to have to take every individual case on its own merit.”

Neither will the La Mesa Police Department transport suspected misdemeanor offenders, citing the lack of resources.

“The major motivator is we don’t have the sufficient manpower at this time and there is no joint-transfer to the Vista facility,” said La Mesa Police Lt. Bobby Barrett. Instead, it will also hold misdemeanor suspects in temporary detention cells.

The California Highway Patrol said its officers might not be affected by the adopted guidelines because most of its drunk-driving arrests take place during the weekends.

Spring Break Crowds

Guaderrama said Sheriff John Duffy’s decision could not have come at a worse time, as San Diego police are bracing for a large influx of spring vacationers.

“I was concerned we weren’t given more warning,” Guaderrama said. “Now all of a sudden we have to shift gears and also have to worry about the big holiday weekend.”

Foster said the situation at the downtown jail was simply too volatile because of the overcrowding and Sheriff’s Department officials were concerned about the safety of the prisoners and deputies.

The San Diego Police Department had been taking an average of 133 misdemeanor suspects and 60 men wanted on misdemeanor warrants to the downtown jail every day, Guaderrama said. Before Friday, most of those men were booked and released, except for a handful of “serious” misdemeanor suspects.

“We’ll now have to take the wife beaters, the petty thieves and narcotics violators to Vista,” Guaderrama said. And officials at the County Jail in Vista will have to grapple with the problem of the additional bookings.

Capt. James Marmack, a supervisor at the Vista jail, said deputies there have already been authorized to release misdemeanor suspects after booking because of overcrowding. Marmack said that, at last count, the Vista jail, with a capacity of 246, was holding 470 men.

‘Might Have to Wait’

“It all depends upon how many people they want to bring us,” Marmack said. “They might have to wait out in line. We’re already overcrowded, and it could grind us to a halt.”

Vista City Manager Morris Vance said city officials do not have much to say on the matter and voiced some fears about whether releasing suspects poses a risk to the city’s residents.

“Well, obviously it’s a concern, but there’s not a heck of a lot we can do about it,” Vance said. “ . . . We have no control over it.”

Marmack said the Sheriff’s Department will temporarily offer bus trips home for people who do not have any money. “If they have money, they’re obligated to provide their own transportation back,” Marmack said. “We’ll provide the tokens to those who don’t have any money if they want to get on a bus. We’re taking a wait-and-see attitude.”

In addition, Guaderrama said city and police officials have essentially ruled out the possibility of using the old police station on Martin Luther King Jr. Way to house those suspected of misdemeanor. Instead, he said, the possibility of acquiring large trailers to house them is more likely.

“The planning is in the works,” Guaderrama said, although a location has not been chosen. “I understand they would be accommodating for the low-risk misdemeanants.”