Sheriff Halts Policy of Rearresting Suspects

Convinced that the practice was wrong, Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks said Wednesday his department has halted its long-standing policy of rearresting criminal suspects who have been in custody 48 hours without appearing before a judge.

The Sheriff’s Department will join all local police agencies in releasing suspects from jail when the legal time limit expires, even if district attorney’s investigators haven’t gathered enough evidence to file criminal charges.

The policy change comes as a result of a civil petition brought by the public defender’s office accusing the Sheriff’s Department of unlawfully holding suspects in custody too long before they are arraigned.

The public defender’s office filed the petition in October on behalf of Jorge Roberto Juarez, who was arrested on suspicion of felony burglary--and rearrested 47 hours later. Juarez spent 105 hours in jail without ever going before a judge, the petition said. He was eventually released and no charges were filed against him.

“We were convinced the public defender had a case,” Brooks said. “And we didn’t want to test it in court. We would rather fix it than fight it.” The Sheriff’s Department acknowledged that rearresting suspects such as Juarez happened regularly, and that the policy had been in practice for at least 20 years. There have been dozens--if not hundreds--of suspects arrested twice rather than being released, officials said. Most, however, were later prosecuted successfully, said Undersheriff Craig Husband.

Public Defender Kenneth Clayman said the new policy ensures the Sheriff’s Department does not violate a suspect’s right to appear before a judge in a timely manner.

“We can’t hold people in custody for undue lengths of time like they do in South Africa,” he said.

Under state law, a suspect must be either released or arraigned in court within two days of being arrested, excluding Sundays and holidays. During an arraignment, a suspect appears before a judge, is formally charged and is asked to plead guilty or not guilty.

In the past, suspects were technically released from jail and simultaneously rearrested when investigators had had insufficient time to secure enough evidence to file charges, Dist. Atty. Michael Bradbury said.

“It’s been a policy that has been in practice as long as I recall,” he said. “This occurred not only in our county, but in other counties as well.”

Rearresting suspects gave detectives and investigators two extra days to interview witnesses, follow leads and gather forensic evidence.

Bradbury and Brooks said the new policy could have unintended negative consequences. For example, police may arrest a rape suspect and then have to release him if the DNA tests aren’t finished within two days. Or a murder suspect may be released and leave the area if investigators can’t get the witnesses interviewed or the gun powder residue checked within the time limit.

“Unquestionably, there will be some people released who should not be--who are guilty,” Bradbury said.

Officials from the Sheriff’s Department and the district attorney’s office said they may need to add staff to meet the tighter time restraints. Bradbury said he hopes the new policies will prompt legislation extending the time limit past 48 hours.

The sheriff sent a memo last month to his staff and to all local law enforcement agencies, calling for an end to the practice of rearresting suspects. The memo states that suspects who “statute out” will be released from custody “without unnecessary delay.”

“To avoid litigation and in the spirit of cooperation, the Sheriff’s Department decided to . . . develop new procedures that were acceptable to everybody,” said Assistant County Counsel Joseph Randazzo, who represented the sheriff.

The change in policy came to light this week when the Juarez case went before Superior Court Judge Rebecca Riley. The public defender’s office and the Sheriff’s Department met out of court several times to reach a compromise. They presented their agreement to Riley, who said the new policy protects the public interest.

Chief Deputy Public Defender Michael McMahon said he does not want people who may be guilty released from jail. Rather, he wants law enforcement agencies to work within the legal time limits so suspects aren’t held in jail unlawfully.

“If you’ve got the evidence, go ahead and file charges,” McMahon said. “But if you don’t, let the people go.”