County emails raise jail questions

An email from a Curry County jail captain reports an investigation into a June 27 fight was almost complete by noon on June 29.

A Curry County commissioner wants to know how that's possible if the jail administrator did not request an investigation until at least June 29 as county officials have indicated.

"There's been a huge cover-up," Commissioner Robert Sandoval said after learning of the email from Capt. Keith Farkas to County Manager Lance Pyle.

The email was among more than 200 county officials released last week in response to Clovis News Journal public records requests related to emails concerning the troubled county jail.

The Farkas email is an issue because county officials claimed for a month that Farkas' investigative report was produced in response to a threatened lawsuit, or tort claim, against the county. That made it exempt from public disclosure because of "attorney/client privilege," County Attorney Steve Doerr claimed.

Then on Thursday, the same day Doerr released the emails to CNJ, he also released the investigative report. Doerr said he had recently received "additional information" that made him believe the attorney-client privilege cited earlier did not apply to the report after all.

Jail Administrator Gerry Billy referred questions about the delayed release of the report to Doerr.

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Commissioner Sandoval said he has questions for Billy and other county officials.

"How can he (Farkas) be finishing an investigation in response to the tort claim on the day that we are notified of it?" Sandoval asked. "It tells me somebody is lying."

Farkas said he was assigned the investigation by former interim jail Administrator Tori Sandoval. His reports indicate that investigation began on June 28, the day before the county received notice of pending litigation.

The threatened lawsuit is on behalf of inmate Jaime Perez, who was involved in the jailhouse fight with inmate Louis Guerra, a man later convicted of killing Perez's brother.

Officials said Guerra beat Perez with a broom handle, sending him to the Clovis hospital with cuts and bruises. Perez was released from the hospital the same night.

Doerr last week declined to discuss the "additional information" he received that led to the release of the report.

"In my previous correspondence to you, I told you that the documents were exempt from inspection under the Inspection of Public Records Act based upon information I had been given," he wrote in a Thursday email to CNJ. "Subsequently, I was provided with new additional information that was not made available to me earlier.

"Upon receipt of that additional information and after consultation with my client, the decision was made to release the documents to you."

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The Farkas email to Pyle is dated Friday, June 29, the day the county received notice of the tort claim. It reads: "I am finishing up the investigation on the incident with Guerra and Perez and will have the report done on Monday afternoon."

The 99-page report showed jail staff were shorthanded and failed to notice the fight despite monitoring the pod of cells in which it occurred from a control room equipped with video cameras.

The report also showed jail staff said they were unaware of multiple alleged warnings that Perez and Guerra should be kept apart.

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Other emails released show concern from District Attorney Matt Chandler about jail officials' actions.

In one dated July 19, Chandler questioned a proposal by Billy after the Guerra-Perez altercation that would modify the current policy of contacting the sheriff in the event of an incident at the jail.

"I have been advised that the jail administrator is attempting to seek permission from the County Commission to change standing policy and put detention center staff in charge of all future criminal investigations at the detention center.

"This was brought to my attention by Mr. Doerr and Curry County Undersheriff Wesley Waller. It's my understanding that both of these men object to the proposal, and I would like to note that I too am adamantly opposed to such a proposal for numerous reasons. If you would like to discuss my reasons and concerns in detail, please let me know."

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In the same email, Chandler questioned why the county released a video of the Guerra-Perez altercation to the CNJ. It reads, in part:

"Although I am all for government transparency, I respectfully disagree with the decision to release evidence of a crime and ongoing investigation without consulting the District Attorney's Office, and I believe the evidence in this specific case would fall under an exception to the right to inspect public records."

Chandler wrote that the video posted on CNJ's website and YouTube had been viewed more than 1,000 times in less than 12 hours.

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In an Aug. 2 email to Billy, Pyle and Commissioner Wendell Bostwick, Chandler details concerns he had about another alleged broom-handle beating at the jail in March. It reads, in part:

"I was advised today that a detailed report of a jail assault that allegedly occurred in March of this year is the lead story in the Clovis News Journal today.

"I would greatly appreciate it if you would send me the report to review as soon as possible. ... As you know, it is the decision of the district attorney's office to evaluate evidence of a crime and determine if there is probable cause to prosecute a criminal case. Please note that prosecuting crimes is not the decision of your staff or the inmates at the jail."

Billy responded minutes later that Chandler would receive a copy of the incident packet and all related materials.

About an hour later, Chandler responded to Billy with a follow-up list of nine questions that included, "Has the jail removed all brooms and/or mops from jail cells and secured them away from all inmates?"

The next morning, Farkas emailed Billy with answers that included: "We have not removed any brooms or mops from the jail cells."

An hour later, Billy emailed Chandler: "While I am not pleased with the manner in which it was handled, I believe that the staff simply did what they have been doing for years."

Billy then wrote about the need to develop policies to address such issues.