Tammy Fonce-Olivas: El Paso Times
El Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego is threatening to turn away crime suspects at the jail entrance if the district attorney's office does not change a booking program.
Samaniego said Tuesday that he has given District Attorney Jaime Esparza until Nov. 4 to make changes to the District Attorney's Information Management System, or DIMS, which allows police to jail crime suspects without first taking them before a magistrate for a bond hearing. He said that under the DIMS program his office is responsible for setting bonds but that he does not want to be in the bond-setting business.
"If by the deadline they haven't come up with another solution, then I will not accept them" at the county jail, Samaniego said, referring to suspects detained by police under the DIMS system.
District Attorney Jaime Esparza and El Paso Police Chief Richard Wiles said they are working with the city attorney's office to come up with a solution that would satisfy the sheriff. Esparza said the possible changes may also require city approval, so they are likely to be presented Tuesday to the City Council.
"The DIMS program is a fair process, and it's been time-tested," Esparza said. "I do think we will have a very good alternative that will be workable for the sheriff and it will be a fair and cost-effective program."
Samaniego said he recently learned the role his office played in DIMS, which has been in use for about a decade.
"Certainly, I had no idea that I was setting bonds ... ," Samaniego said. "Everybody says it's legal, but I can't swallow it if they are counting on me to finalize the process."
