The District Attorney’s Office charged a local probation officer
arrested for smuggling drugs into Juvenile Hall with two felony gun
offenses, but declined to file charges for allegedly bringing
prescription drugs into the facility due to a lack of evidence.
Hollister – The District Attorney’s Office charged a local probation officer arrested for smuggling drugs into Juvenile Hall with two felony gun offenses, but declined to file charges for allegedly bringing prescription drugs into the facility due to a lack of evidence.
San Benito County Juvenile Institutional Officer Manuel Gonzales, 41, of Los Banos, was taken into custody last week on felony arrest charges of carrying a concealed weapon, child endangerment and smuggling drugs into a juvenile facility, along with misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to the Sheriff’s Department. Deputies searched the man in front of Juvenile Hall last Wednesday and confiscated a loaded revolver and prescription pills, according to police.
District Attorney John Sarsfield charged Gonzales with carrying a concealed weapon and bringing a firearm onto school grounds Friday – felonies that could result in Gonzales being locked-up for a maximum of five years, according to Sarsfield. However, Gonzales will not face drug charges and he was released from custody Friday on his own recognizance, he said.
“We didn’t think there was sufficient evidence to warrant charging him,” Sarsfield said regarding the allegation of drug smuggling but declined to elaborate on the specifics.
Under the district attorney’s zero-tolerance policy for gun or gang-related crimes, Gonzales will not be able to strike a plea bargain for lesser charges. But, Sarsfield said, a judge has the power to reduce charges if he wishes.
Gonzales was arrested after police searched him and found a loaded .38 revolver, which was not registered to him but rather to his roommate, and numerous prescription pills believed to be Vicodin, a narcotic painkiller, according to Undersheriff Pat Turturici. While police do not know if Gonzales’ intent was to bring the gun into Juvenile Hall, he had the weapon tucked into the back of his waistband when police arrested him outside the facility, Turturici said. At the time, Head Probation Officer Deborah Botts said she did not know why he would bring the gun to work, as juvenile officers do not carry weapons on duty.
Sheriff’s deputies were tipped off to Gonzales’ actions from an unrelated investigation into gang activity, Turturici said. Police secured a warrant and conducted the search Dec. 21 at 6am in the parking lot of Juvenile Hall – which is located next to the San Benito County Jail on Flynn Road – as Gonzales was exiting his car and preparing to begin his work day.
Though the Sheriff’s Department spent two weeks investigating Gonzales before he was arrested, Sheriff Curtis Hill said that he was not disappointed in Sarsfield’s decision not to pursue drug charges. It’s just part of the law enforcement business, he said.
“That’s (Sarsfield’s) choice to make,” Hill said. “If he decides he doesn’t want to prosecute, it’s his call.”
Gonzales was immediately placed on administrative leave and, besides going to jail if convicted of the charges, could be fired, Botts has said.
Police suspected Gonzales was bringing the highly-addictive prescription pills to a juvenile in custody at the facility, but do not know why or for who. Through their two-week long investigation, they found evidence to suggest that Gonzales brought prescription drugs into Juvenile Hall at least once before, according to Turturici. The investigation is still ongoing, and Botts could not comment on weather Gonzales had any prior disciplinary problems at work because it is a personnel issue, she has said. Turturici said that the probation department will now likely conduct an internal affairs investigation into Gonzales.
A county judge ordered that Gonzales be released from the county jail on his own recognizance on Friday, according to jail personnel. Sarsfield said he did not object to Gonzales being released because the gun charges he now faces are, “significantly different than what was first alleged in the investigation.” He also said that the crimes Gonzales ultimately was charged with were not violent.
“We didn’t see him as a threat to the community,” Sarsfield said. “The jail is crowded enough already.”
Luke Roney covers local government and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected].
