District Attorney John Sarsfield is planning to investigate
housing conditions at the San Benito County Jail after getting two
complaints from inmates in the last two months alleging inhumane
conditions.
District Attorney John Sarsfield is planning to investigate housing conditions at the San Benito County Jail after getting two complaints from inmates in the last two months alleging inhumane conditions.
Corrections officials said the complaints were handled internally and lacked merit, but welcome an investigation. One complaint, sent anonymously to the Free Lance and also to the district attorney, alleged that inmates were being unfairly classified and housed as gang members. Gang members are usually housed individually and are locked in their cells 23-hours per day. Another inmate claimed in a letter to the Free Lance that jail water was undrinkable and the temperature in his cell was below freezing at night.
“Prisoners though they may be, they still have rights,” Sarsfield said. “We don’t ignore complaints that appear credible. I have an obligation to find out if there is any merit to those allegations.”
Last month, Sarsfield requested $50,000 from the County Board of Supervisors to investigate housing conditions at the jail. The board has yet to approve the funds. Some of that money would be used to hire an outside investigator to look into inmates’ complaints.
Jail Commander Edward Escamillia said housing conditions at the 148-inmate facility are above reproach. San Benito County Jail one the cleanest facilities in the state, he said.
“We have nothing to hide, we welcome anyone to come in and investigate,” he said. “Last year the grand jury came in and we passed that inspection with flying colors.”
In January, officials from the Corrections Standards Authority conducted their biannual inspection of the facility. A report of that inspection states “the physical plant was clean and well-maintained.” CSA officials also reviewed the jail’s protocols for classifying inmates and handling inmate complaints. Both were deemed satisfactory.
Escamillia said all gang members were properly classified. Such classifications can be reviewed on an “as needed” basis. Escamillia said gang members have been known to claim they dropped out of a gang to get moved to a different cell so they can assault a rival inmate. Norteño and Sureño gang members are kept on 23-hour lock down in order to prevent violence, he said.
“We have to keep them on lock down,” he said. “Look what happened in Santa Clara. That’s what would happen here if we let them out.”
Last weekend, a Santa Clara County Jail inmate was allegedly murdered by his cellmate, who police believe may have been a member of a rival gang.
One inmate, who declined to give his name for fear of gang retaliation, said he understood the classification system.
“It does suck to be locked down 23-hours a day, but I’ve seen things happen and I understand why they do it,” he said. “If (jail officials) were to open all the doors in D-Pod, it would be chaos, there would be a problem.”
Inmates in two of the jails four pods, or wings, are locked down 23 hours a day, including D-Pod, which is reserved for Norteños. Inmate classification is based on a variety of factors. Some inmates readily admit their gang affiliation, some have gang tattoos, and some have been documented by local law enforcement agencies as having ties to a certain gang, Escamillia said. B and C-Pods are considered “open” because they do not have individual cells and all inmates live in a single communal area. A and D-Pods contain individual cells.
B-Pod inmate Ralph Lerma, 33, has been in King, Kern and Santa Clara County Jails. Lerma, who was arrested last month for domestic violence, said San Benito has the best housing conditions.
“This jail is kicked back compared to other jails I’ve been in, as long as you follow the rules, everything’s OK,” he said.
Lerma said the most widespread inmate complaint was not being allowed to have instant ramen noodles. The instant noodles were banned last year after inmates clogged the city sewer system by flushing the wrappers down the toilet, Escamillia said.
“Soup is the big issue in jail right now,” he said. “There is a lot of complaining.”
Lerma also said many inmates complain about the tap water. It doesn’t make people sick, he said, but it doesn’t taste great either.
“I try not to drink it,” he said. “But it’s Hollister water, what are you going to do? I don’t drink (tap) water outside of jail either.”
San Benito County Sheriff Curtis Hill, whose responsibilities include running the county jail, said he did not know if Sarsfield’s planned investigation was politically motivated.
“I don’t know what his motivations are,” he said. “But I do know that we’re in full compliance with the state standards. I’m proud of my corrections staff and my facility.”
Sarsfield said the investigation was prompted by the two complaints and was not political.
“There is no political gain to be had by looking into conditions at the jail,” he said. “It’s not a popular cause, but it’s still the right thing to do.”
Sarsfield has publicly criticized Hill several times during the last three months for what the prosecutor describes as dereliction of duty. Hill has never responded to the attacks, but has repeatedly said he is proud of the way both the jail and sheriff’s department operates.
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
