Monday, March 23, 2020

NOT THE BEST CANDIDATE FOR A CORONA RELEASE

Harris County judge releases murder suspect on PR bond after the inmate said he feared coronavirus in jail

By Gabrielle Banks

Houston Chronicle
March 20, 2020

A Harris County judge released a murder suspect on a pretrial bond Thursday, after the man requested a bail reduction, saying he feared that COVID-19 would strike the county lockup and “spread like wildfire.”

David Cruz, 29, was detained in connection with his friend’s death because he couldn’t afford a $60,000 bond. He asked Judge DaSean Jones to lower his bond to $30,000 and impose electronic monitoring and pretrial supervision. His lawyer stated in court documents Monday that COVID-19 “is certainly going to strike the Harris County jail population and spread like wildfire among inmates.” If Cruz were released, the lawyer said, Cruz would live with his parents and work as an estimator at the family’s lamination business.

Cruz was arrested in what he told relatives was the accidental shooting of his friend in August.
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Coronavirus breakout inside NYC jails: 21 inmates and 17 corrections staff test positive in Rikers Island and the city's lockups

Daily Mail
March 22, 2020

NYC was hit by the nation's largest coronavirus jail outbreak to date this week, with at least 38 people testing positive at the notorious Rikers Island complex and nearby facilities.

1 comment:

Trey Rusk said...

It's a bad time to be in jail.