Jail Time Is Short Time for Some Crimes : Crime: Crowded county facilities mean more misdemeanor offenders are finding their visits to lockups to be brief ones.

Michael Mark Newton was one misdemeanor offender who, Municipal Judge Ronald Kreber said, needed a taste of jail.

After his second drunk-driving conviction in less than three years, the judge sentenced the 42-year-old Seal Beach man last May to 30 days in Orange County Jail.

The punishment was relatively severe in comparison to some cases, but one that was deserved considering Newton’s prior drunk-driving arrest, the judge said.

While Newton would never qualify as a high-risk inmate, Kreber said the case illustrates a troubling story that is being repeated with increasing regularity as the county continues to be mired in a decade-long jail overcrowding crisis.

Less than a week after the man was scheduled to begin his sentence, Kreber looked down from his bench in Laguna Niguel and saw Newton, a free man, standing before the judge asking for a minor change to some court documents involving the case.

“I thought he missed reporting to jail,” the judge said recalling the recent encounter. “I really started in on him. I asked, ‘What are you doing? I gave you jail!’ ”

From his vantage point, a confused Newton said the judge’s glare “was like having your dad looking down on you.”

What Kreber did not know was that Newton had, indeed, been taken to jail but was released after an abbreviated stint to free up local beds for more serious offenders.

With no solution to jail overcrowding in sight, Judge Kreber and Sheriff’s Department officials say that county residents should prepare for the subtle changes in the local quality of life that has long been taken for granted.

“We just cannot keep going like this,” the judge said. “I think we better be careful. There are very serious misdemeanor people (offenders) out here who do need to see some jail time.”

Assistant Sheriff John (Rocky) Hewitt confirmed that Newton began his sentence May 27 and was released June 2. But Hewitt said there was nothing unusual about the shortened jail stay, since Newton qualified for a county work program outside of jail. He finished his work assignment June 9.

Nevertheless, Hewitt admitted that overcrowded conditions--forcing the early release of many misdemeanor offenders--has nearly eliminated jail time as a weapon for local judges who preside over misdemeanor cases.

“There is no room at the inn; the place is full,” Hewitt said. “We understand the judges are frustrated. We are frustrated too. We talk to the judges. We feel for the judges. We don’t just want to be releasing people back on the streets.”

At any time during the week, sheriff’s officials said, it is not unusual for the county to house a total of 4,600 prisoners at its five jail facilities that were built to accommodate about 3,300.

The situation is exacerbated by a federal court order which requires the sheriff to find space for inmates within 24 hours of jail check-in. As a result, prisoners sentenced to the County Jail have found their time reduced by at least 20%.

“It used to be that the jails were a tool for judges to keep the standard of safety that we in Orange County have grown accustomed to,” Hewitt said. “Twenty-five years ago, we would have dealt with problems in your neighborhood like vandalism and public drunkenness out of your community by putting people in jail. That doesn’t happen anymore.”

Overwhelming evidence of that change can be found in current prisoner population statistics.

According to sheriff’s officials, 75% of the county’s inmates are being held on felony charges. Only five years ago, felony prisoners numbered 25%.

For judges presiding over misdemeanor cases, those statistics--considering that there are no immediate plans for new local jails--are as confining as a pair of handcuffs.

Judge David McEachen, presiding judge in Orange County’s Municipal Court in Fullerton, said simply that judges have lost control over how much time prisoners now serve.

“We really don’t know how long somebody is going to stay” in jail, McEachen said. “It is frustrating, but I don’t know what we can do. I can understand the sheriff’s dilemma. The public wants more jails, but they don’t want them in their back yards. . . . The defendants have been around. They know what’s happening.”

While earlier releases are becoming more common events for criminal justice officials, McEachen said “it would shock the public” to learn how jail population is being managed.

Unless plans for new jail construction are forthcoming soon, Kreber predicts, misdemeanor offenders will be pushed out of the county jail system entirely.

In the case involving Newton, Kreber said that he did not blame either the sheriff or the defendant.

He did implore the county to investigate all options to find additional jail space, even if it meant “leasing aircraft carriers from the military” or using “Marine Corps drill instructors” to manage prisoners.

“Maybe we should pursue some type of stockade facility or bring over some Marine Corps drill instructors,” Kreber said. “We have to do something.”

McEachen recommended that the county pursue taking over local Marine Corps air stations in Tustin and El Toro, targeted for closure, as possible jail sites. County officials have suggested the Tustin site as a future jail location, but little serious discussion has taken place in recent months.

“If I were in a position of power in the government, I would be looking at the military bases and use them as incarceration sites,” McEachen said. “I understand it’s a radical theory, but we would be making a benefit out of what was a loss to some communities.”

Back on the Street

More than 5,000 people were cited and released from police custody in Orange County between Jan. 1 and July 11. The majority had been arrested for drunk driving. A profile of the 5,005 put back on the streets:

* Driving under the influence: 58% Other traffic offenses: 18% City/county ordinances: 9% Assault and battery: 2% Drug-related crime: 2% Other penal code offenses: 5% Miscellaneous: 6% Source: Orange County Sheriff’s Department