Bexar County And Bail Reform Group Colluding To Bond Out Inmates With Long Criminal Records

 

With homicides and property crimes rising in San Antonio and other U.S. cities some are questioning more lenient bail practices.

Are they putting repeat offenders back on the street? And why is Bexar County helping? News 4 Trouble Shooter Jaie Avila investigates what's happening at the county jail and the battle over bail.

The county and the bail reform group it's working with say cash bail discriminates against the poor, and inmates should be released on little to no bond if they pose little risk to society.

However, records show some they've bailed out have extensive criminal records and a history of not showing up to court.

Police Chief William McManus mentioned bail as a factor last month when announcing San Antonio's 30 percent increase in homicides and jump in property crime.

“There's not a whole lot of pretrial detention going on right now, most of these folks are getting out," McManus told reporters.

Since 2020, a group called the Texas Organizing Project, or TOP, has bailed out 741 inmates from the Bexar County Jail.

TOP is one of the organizations behind last year's defund the police movement. Now it's focusing on bailing out what it calls low level offenders with bail amounts of five thousand dollars or less.

“Many poor people are sitting in jail without legally being found guilty of a crime and they should have the same rights as those being charged with the same exact crime and have wealth and are able to be bailed out," said Laquita Garcia, Texas Organizing Project’s Statewide Policy Coordinator.

Bexar County says it doesn't have a list of inmates bonded out by TOP, but we were able to research some cases.

Ernest Saldana was bailed out for felony methamphetamine possession, considered a low-level charge. However, the police report says at the time of the arrest Saldana had gone into a women's restroom at a convenience store with a knife.

Saldana was charged as a repeat offender because of a past indictment for shooting and stabbing a female companion in 2006.

Gilbert Vasquez was also bonded out by TOP for meth possession and evading arrest. He was charged as a habitual offender with 44 cases on his record including assault, robbery and theft.

Neither Saldana nor Vasquez showed up to court after TOP bonded them out. We found numerous other inmates with long criminal histories who now have active warrants out for their arrest after TOP bailed them out.

“Do some of these defendants belong in jail?” Jaie Avila asked after telling TOP about those cases.

“I would have to say that everyone's entitled to bail," Garcia responded.

Bexar County agrees with TOP. In fact, we've learned the county supplies the group with a weekly list of people for them to bond out.

Also, when a TOP defendant fails to appear in court, the Bexar County Public Defender, Michael Young, represents TOP in the case so it doesn't lose the bail money, which is not done for bail bond companies.

Sheriff Javier Salazar says TOP has helped keep the jail population down during Covid and he does not think the group’s activity is contributing to rising crime statistics.

“What we may be seeing with regard to violent crime every other major city and county in the United States is seeing it,” Salazar said.

There was outrage last year when a man named Darrell Brooks drove through a parade in Milwaukee killing six people, two days after walking out of jail on a thousand dollars bond for trying to run over the mother of his child.

Here in San Antonio victim advocates are concerned about the bailouts.

Convicted murderer Derrick Rodriguez was free on bond when he shot Abel Salazar and stuffed him in trash can.

“How many have lost a loved one because the system is just letting them out like nothing? Giving them another chance, after another chance, after another chance," asked Terry Salazar, the victim’s mother.

Bail reform has been adopted in cities across the nation.

Groups that support it have spent millions to help elect district attorney's and other leaders who agree with their cause.

Campaign finance records show Texas Organizing Project performed canvassing and field operations for Sheriff Salazar in the amount of more than $16 thousand. TOP did about $76 thousand worth of campaign work for Bexar County DA Joe Gonzales.

A political action committee that supports bail reform, called Texas Justice and Safety PAC, which is funded by billionaire George Soros also contributed an unprecedented $1.4 million worth of advertising and research to DA Gonzales's campaign since 2018.

The district attorney says the contributions are not the reason TOP receives cooperation from the county on its bailout efforts.

“Because they supported me does not have any, does not reflect on how we operate our office, and our recommendations at the magistrate's office with regard to recommending low level bonds," Gonzales said.

As of January first, new law passed by the legislature is requiring more transparency from groups like TOP that bail out defendants.

The sheriff will have to maintain a list of their bond outs and report them to the state.

News 4 has also learned Harvard University will soon launch a project to study bail reform at the Bexar County Jail.

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