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Burnet County Jail, Texas
Texas
prison boom going bust: by Mitch Mitchell, September 3, 2011, Star-Telegram.
Expose on troubles facing many communities that bought into the private
prison bonding scam.
March 13, 2012 Daily Tribune
The escape of a man from the Burnet County Jail has grown into a family
affair with the arrest of the inmate's brother on charges the sibling tried
to help the suspected jailbird fly the coop. The news March 13 followed an
earlier report from sheriff's deputies that the brothers' mother also was
arrested a few days ago in the case. Louis Arce
IV, 29, of Burnet was charged March 12 with hindering apprehension or
prosecution of a known felon. He remained in the jail pending the setting
of a bond. Deputies arrested Arce's 59-year-old
mother Francis Ybarra March 10 on the same charges. She posted a $10,000
bond and was released from jail March 11. The accusations in both cases
stem from the escape of Johnny Angel Ybarra, 40, from the public-private
jail March 1. He was recaptured about three hours later. According to an
arrest affidavit by sheriff's Investigator Bo Boshears,
Arce told Texas Rangers assisting with the case
he helped Ybarra after the escape by taking him from their mother's home on
Pierce Street to a relative's place at the nearby Green Acres Apartments.
Ybarra, who is serving a life sentence on three felony charges including
burglary of a habitation with intent to commit a sexual offense,
disappeared from a handicap cell sometime from 12:50 a.m.-3:30 a.m.,
deputies said. Jailers discovered a hole had been knocked through a cinder
block wall under a sink in Ybarra's cell using the rail from a toilet. The
convicted felon hung towels over the sink to cover his escape route and
even rolled up blankets under his bed sheet to make it look like somebody
was sleeping there. Ybarra made his way to the roof, slipped through razor
wire and dropped to the ground, deputies said.
March 13, 2012 Daily Tribune
The mother of an accused jail escapee landed behind bars in the same
facility after deputies charged her with trying to get her son out of
Texas. Francis Ybarra, 59, is charged with hindering the apprehension or
prosecution of a known felon, Burnet County Sheriff W.T Smith said. She was
released March 11 from the Burnet County Jail after posting a $10,000 bond.
The case stems from the March 1 escape of Johnny Angel Ybarra, 40, from the
public-private jail after he received a life sentence on three felony
charges including burglary of a habitation with intent to commit a sexual
offense. An arrest affidavit by sheriff's Investigator Bo Boshears stated after the son escaped from jail, the
mother was trying to help him get out of Burnet and to a relative's home in
Colorado. But before the duo could carry out the plan, officers captured
the inmate at the Green Acres Apartments. According to the investigators,
sometime from 12:50 a.m.-3:30 a.m. March 1, Ybarra disappeared from his
cell. A hole had been knocked into a cinderblock wall under a sink using
the railing from the toilet in the handicap cell. The escape route was
hidden by towels hanging to dry on the sink. A rolled-up blanket under the
sheets made it look like someone was in the bed. Reaching the roof, the
inmate slipped through razor wire and dropped to the ground.
March 5, 2012 Daily Tribune
The Burnet County Jail has flunked a state inspection that found design
flaws in the wake of an escape March 1 by an inmate who chiseled a hole in
the wall. The state report says the private-public jail, which opened with
587 beds in April 2009 at a cost of $23 million, is
"non-compliant" with security standards. "It means something
is wrong," County Judge Donna Klaeger said
March 5. The Burnet County Sheriff's Office supervises the jail, which is
operated by the private firm LaSalle Southwest Corrections. Texas
Commission on Jail Standards inspectors recently found
"deficiencies" in the network of concrete blocks and
reinforcement bars that support walls near cells for handicapped inmates,
Executive Director Adan Munoz said. It is in one
of the handicapped cells that Johnny Angel Ybarra, 40, removed a rail by a
toilet and chiseled away at cinder blocks under a sink until he created an
escape route, investigators said. He hid his handiwork by hanging towels to
dry over the sink and replacing the rail before guards noticed it was
missing, they added. "Those cells are unpopulated now," Klaeger said. Hale Mills Construction built the jail at
900 County Lane three years ago. County Commissioner Bill Neve said he plans to meet Hale Mills builders March 6
at the jail, along with Sheriff W.T. Smith and LaSalle officials. "We
are going to talk about construction issues related to the jail," Neve added. Also, the commissioners plan to hear a jail
security update during the meeting March 13, Klaeger
said. Neither Smith nor LaSalle officials could be reached for comment
March 5.
October 20, 2009 KXAN
New razor wire that measures more than 4 feet tall and nearly 3 feet wide
is coiled around the metal roof and down the sides of the new Burnet County
Jail. The $90,000 security measure was recently added to the 7-month-old
facility to stop another inmate from sneaking out. Authorities are still
searching for a man who made his getaway during recreation time back in
August. On a surprise visit last Thursday, jail inspectors found concerns
inside after questioning two female inmates. One was pregnant and said she
was not given proper medication. Another mental health patient said she was
not given her medication either, so inspectors checked her medical chart.
"There were certain medications that needed to be prescribed for her
that had not been given to her, and that's obviously not in compliance with
jail standards," said Adan Munoz, executive
director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards .
"They get excellent care here," said Tammy Manning, the Burnet
County Jail medical supervisor. Manning was out of town during the
inspection but normally sees the inmate who she said had been refusing to
show up to appointments after they were scheduled. The situation had not
been documented on her medical chart that state inspectors reviewed.
"We do have room for improvement in our documentation," said
Manning. "And our actional plan we put into
place Friday was to improve our documentation so this will not happen
again." One of the female inmates also said they were not getting
recreation time everyday. "We went on to
check the recreation log to see if their concerns were valid," said
Munoz. "We couldn't even find a recreation log." Burnet County
Jail Warden Bruce Armstrong admits there was a breakdown there, too.
"We run rec everyday," said Armstrong.
"And the officer calls in the count to the central control officer
whose suppose to be logging the count down on how many offenders went to rec, and they were neglecting to document the
count." Armstrong said it has been taken care of, but the state said
there is one more requirement the county has yet to comply with. The state
does not have the jail's operational plan, which covers everything from
what to do in case of a fire to how to administer health care. "The
fact that it's been open since April and still not within our agency
certainly gives us great concern," said Munoz. The county told the
state they were working on it. Munoz sent written notification of the
deficiencies to the county and Southwest Corrections, the company who
manages the jail. They have 30 days to comply.
September 3, 2009 Burnet Bulletin
Only four months after opening its doors to the public with tours,
speeches and a ribbon cutting, the Burnet County Jail has been cited by the
Texas Commission on Jail Standards for a different kind of open house:
Improper supervision of inmates after a prisoner escaped Sunday night and
fled past nearby residential neighborhoods and to freedom. The
controversial privately run jail – a facility that many nearby residents
unsuccessfully fought during its development – now is officially deemed
noncompliant with Texas jail standards, confirmed Adan
Munoz, a former sheriff who serves as executive director of the Texas
Commission on Jail Standards. An inspector from the commission visited the
jail and found inadequate its procedures for checking prisoners, Munoz
said. Meanwhile, the jailer responsible for supervising prisoners into and
out of a recreation yard has resigned, and two other correctional officers
at the jail face disciplinary action that could mean suspension or
termination as a result of the escape of Nuana
Antonio Fuentes-Sanchez, confirmed Billy McConnell, co-owner of the private
jail management firm. Fuentes-Sanchez, 23, a day laborer and native of El
Salvador, was arrested in connection with a violent robbery of a Burnet
County couple in April. Being noncompliant doesn't mean the jail is in
danger of being shut down. It means Southwestern Correctional LLC, the
private company hired by the county to manage the jail, has 30 days to
report how it will satisfactorily resolve the issues, Munoz said.
Currently, 37 of the 247 county jails regulated by the TCJS are
noncompliant with the standards, which could be for a range of minor to
major issues, such as inoperable toilet facilities, malfunctioning intercom
systems or inadequate staffing, Munoz said. The Burnet County Jail’s issues
fall under the heading of “supervision of inmates,” a key section of the
600 standards regulated by the commission. Munoz said “The best way to
describe it is a lack of diligence, a lack of professionalism,” Munoz said.
November 19, 2007
This Monday, concerned Burnet County residents will hold a public meeting
with Burnet County Commissioners to discuss their opposition to a proposed
500-bed private detention center. The meeting will take place Monday,
November 19th, at Old Courthouse on the square in Burnet at 7:00pm. Burnet
County residents are concerned that the proposed jail will be operated by a
Louisiana-based for-profit private prison corporation, that out-of-county
prisoners will shipped to the prison, and that Burnet County has taken
steps to float revenue bonds to pay for the prison, which could endanger
the county's future bond rating, without a public vote. Private prison
corporations have a track record that include
human rights abuses, lawsuits, higher rates of violence, and financial
mismanagement. Research shows that prison construction has no positive economic
impact on communities. Counties that finance private prison construction
have been held liable for abuses that take place in the prisons.
Jackson
Parish Correctional Center, Jackson Parish,
Louisiana
La. firm
says prison escapes led to changes: August 10, 2011, Bob Ortega,
The Arizona Republic. Expose on LaSalle
LaSalle
Southwest Correctional
North
Louisiana family is a major force in the state's vast prison industry:
By Cindy Chang, May 14, 2012, Times-Picayune. Expose on LaSalle
Texas
prison boom going bust: by Mitch Mitchell, September 3, 2011, Star-Telegram.
Expose on troubles facing many communities that bought into the private
prison bonding scam.
La.
firm says prison escapes led to changes: August 10, 2011, Bob
Ortega, The Arizona Republic. Expose on LaSalle
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