House arrest scrutinized after incident

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - It took four months for the Albuquerque Metropolitan Detention Center to tell a judge that Richard Sanchez cut off of his ankle monitor the day he picked up his three sons.

Sanchez and the boys would never be seen again. He was on house arrest for violating a restraining order and also faced a rape charge.

Last Thursday his car was found submerged in Cochiti Lake.

Metro Court Judge Sharon Walton did not handle Sanchez's case, but said she was on the bench in 2001 and knows the system's snags. Walton said some of them persist today.

One of the so called snags is the amount of time it takes for the jail to tell the judge about an escape.

"I would expect the next day, absolutely within the same week and anything beyond that I think is absolutely unacceptable," Walton said.

Walton said that under the rules in 2001, the year Sanchez went on house arrest, the judge decided whether to put a prisoner into the program.

Now MDC makes the initial call, but the judge can still overrule it.

Walton said she feels house arrest works in some situations, but worries that jail administrators don't always use it for the right reasons.

"Community custody from a jail prospective may be a different kind of tool; it might be a population tool," Walton said.

In other words, house arrest could be used as a tool to control overcrowding in area jails.

Walton said a lot of people have misconceptions about house arrest.

"Community custody was for non violent offenders. I have come to learn that the way the jail defines non violent offenders is not the way most people would define that term. It has some obvious gaps. For example attempted murder is not a serious violent offense, first degree murder is not," Walton said.

Under MDC guidelines, any offender eligible for time off for good behavior is also eligible for house arrest even if the offense was violent or even fatal, according to Walton.

Walton said she believes a house arrest system is necessary, adding that offenders and enforcers need to take it more seriously.

"To treat it as a real alternative to jail. People have to understand there are severe consequences for cutting off your ankle bracelet, not reporting, not being around," she said.

In 2001, judges did not have access to the defendant's full rap sheet when making a decision about house arrest. That has since changed.

The Judge who put Sanchez on house arrest was Victoria Grant. The court's public information officer said no one at the court will talk about the specifics of the case.

As for MDC, Capt. Heather Lough said a special committee now reviews all cases, serious offenses now require judicial approval and the program is designed to ease overcrowding.

MDC has agreed to on camera interview on Tuesday.