Report mix-up leads to long jail stay

Jason Auslander | The New Mexican

5/15/2008 - 5/16/08

A 32-year-old Albuquerque man charged in Santa Fe recently with his fifth DWI has spent an extra week in jail because of confusion over paperwork.

That's according to Santa Fe County Magistrate George Anaya Jr., who said a family member of James Ruiz's called him Tuesday night or Wednesday morning and said the Albuquerque man, who was arrested May 6, still hadn't been arraigned.

Anaya on Wednesday had a court clerk call the city Police Department to ask the officer who arrested Ruiz to call him immediately. The officer, T.J. Grundler, later told the judge he'd filed the case, Anaya said, though the Magistrate Court had no record of it.

Grundler faxed over his report — which details finding Ruiz passed out behind the wheel of his car with the engine running — just after 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to court records. Magistrate Richard "Buzzy" Padilla set Ruiz's bond on a charge of felony driving while intoxicated at $10,000 cash or surety Thursday.

"Until I called for it, we never had it," Anaya said.

Under state law, a judge must determine whether probable cause exists to keep an arrested person in jail within 48 hours, Anaya said. State law does not, however, specify how long the state has to arraign someone who's been arrested, he added.

If things had gone normally, Ruiz likely would have been arraigned May 7 or 8, Anaya said. If he was unable to post bond, he'd have spent the next 10 days in jail and been released provided the District Attorney's Office didn't indict him by grand jury.

Now, if Ruiz cannot come up with bond, he will have to spend 10 days from Thursday in jail before he can be released — again provided he's not indicted. That puts his release date at May 26.

Barbara Castillo, Ruiz's mother, said her son called her Tuesday and said he thought he'd be released soon because he hadn't been arraigned. However, she hadn't heard from him by Thursday and said she was concerned about him. Castillo also said she wasn't the family member who alerted Anaya to Ruiz's situation. "He shouldn't be just sitting there, I know that," Castillo said.

Grundler discovered Ruiz sitting behind the wheel of his 1994 Toyota Corolla about 8 p.m. May 6, according to a police report. The car's engine was running at the time, the report says. After switching off the engine, Grundler tried to wake Ruiz but couldn't, according to the report.

Ruiz reeked of alcohol, and Grundler wrote that he later overheard Ruiz tell paramedics he'd consumed 10 beers earlier that day, the report states. Ruiz had four prior DWIs on his record, the report says.

Anaya said it costs the county $85 to $100 a day to keep someone in jail.

Contact Jason Auslander at 986-3076 or jauslander@sfnewmexican.com.