By Astrid Galvan
Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Bonding out of jail for violent crimes such as assault will cost up to four times more money come next week, when bond amounts for certain crimes will change in Bernalillo County.
A committee of six District Court judges came up with a set of increases to the so-called “jailhouse bonds” at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Jailhouse bonds are set at predetermined amounts, depending on the crime. Suspects who can come up with the money for those bonds can get out of jail before they have a first appearance before a judge.
A judge can set a new bond amount at the suspect’s first appearance or arraignment, raising or lowering the amount depending on circumstances.
Police praised the higher jailhouse bonds; defense lawyers said they won’t make the community safer and will cause new overcrowding problems at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
Police and prosecutors in recent years have complained that it has been too easy for defendants to get out of jail and commit more crimes, but judges say those complaints weren’t a factor in the decision to review bond amounts.
The changes, the first since 1996, most affect those charged with violent crimes, said the committee chair, Second Judicial District Court Judge Denise Barela Sheperd.
Sheperd said the committee was formed in March to determine whether current jailhouse bonds match the bonds that judges set when defendants come before them for the first time.
“There was a trend among bonds we reviewed indicating that judges were setting much higher bonds for these charges than what the jailhouse had,” Sheperd said. “What we wanted to do was to have some consistency.”
The committee found discrepancies mostly in the bond amounts for people charged with violent crimes. For example, a jailhouse bond for a misdemeanor battery charge is currently $500, which a defendant can post to be released before showing up in court. But when that defendant does see a judge, it’s common for the judge to raise that bond if the suspect is a flight risk.
Come Dec. 15, the jailhouse bond for someone charged with misdemeanor battery will be $2,500, according an order signed by Chief District Court Judge Ted Baca.
Still, the changes do not tackle bond amounts for certain crimes law enforcement officials have long said are too low, such as property crimes and drug offenses. Late last month, a man arrested for the 127th time bonded out of jail for by paying 10 percent of his $2,500 bond for a drug offense. A judge later sent 43-year-old Kevin Garner, who police say is a career criminal, back to jail with a $25,000 bond, which he also posted.
And this spring, Police Chief Ray Schultz argued for higher bonds on felony property crimes offenses after a man led police on a dangerous high speed chase in a stolen vehicle two days after he’d bonded out of jail for attempting to steal a vehicle. The chase took place days after a bank robbery suspect struck and killed two young mothers while fleeing from police.
Schultz welcomed the changes, saying offenses committed by suspects awaiting trial and out on bond are on the increase.
“I’m very supportive of raising those bonds,” Schultz said. "... I think higher bonds will keep more criminals behind bars until they get a chance to see a judge, at which time, of course, the judge can make the final decision.”
But keeping more accused criminals behind bars longer could become an issue, said Ousama Rasheed, president-elect of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
“It will increase the jail population, and it will limit the jail’s ability to handle the population of the jail,” Rasheed said.
“Having a higher amount - I don’t think it protects the community any more because (defendants) can still bond out.”
Sheperd said the committee does not think there will be any negative impact on the jail.
Copyright 2010 Albuquerque Journal