The Futility of SB 252 Was Shown Last Week
Oh the horrors, a poor inmate couldn't afford bail we were told or was refused bail and died at the County jail last week. Now this particular story wasn't saying exactly that but the ACLU and their sycophants certainly were using the woman's death to push for SB 252.
And the real story, is as always, a career criminal and drug addict finally having their actions catch up with them. Tara Lynn Garcia showed up with a DUI back in 2002. She pled guilty and received a suspended sentence and community service. She did appear to pay off her fines and fees over a two year period.
Next was a felony in 2016, possession of meth and drug paraphernalia. She bonds out and gets returned a few months later most likely for a second offense that violates her bond with the court. She pleads guilty and gets ten years suspended, supervised by the DOC on parole. By January of 2017 she has made a payment plan and pays $25.00 to the court in April. By June the DOC has had enough and the court issues a warrant for failure to pay fines and fees of $1456.00 or appear at the cost docket to make a new plan (which likely will not be followed either). By late November Garcia pays $250.00 to the court.
Next in November of 2016 she is arrested for intent to distribute meth, the reason why her first 2016 bond was revoked and she was returned to jail. She pleads quickly this time and by December 22nd she receives another ten year deferred sentence to be supervised by the DOC. She agrees to pay each month in January of 2016 but is arrested with $1303.58 in arrears in September of 2017. She pays $20.00 in August of 2018, skips payment in September, pays another $20.00 in October, and pays $40.00 in late December of 2018. After that she is paying $20.00 per month till April of 2019.
In May of 2018 she is arrested again for heroin possession. Her bond is $1000.00 or $100.00 bail fee for professional bail. She quickly pleads guilty and gets 45 days with time off for time served meaning she will be out by mid June as she has been locked up in jail that much time by then. By June 21st she is placed in Drug Court and her payments suspended till a later date.
By the 19th of February 2019 Garcia is back in jail again after being arrested for petty larceny, shoplifting basically, to feed her habits despite being in Drug Court. She was immediately released on PR bond, personal recognizance, and a few weeks later refuses to show up for court. The judge orders her held without bond due to her habit of refusing to show up, and for committing more crimes while in the Drug Court diversion program.
So once again the poster child for bail reform and soft on crime reform is outed as a complete fraud. As her case demonstrates, you have to work very hard to wind up in prison in Oklahoma. The woman would only shown up at court if she was in custody and she had demonstrated this for years before she died in jail. That jail is a death trap and the men and women that run it ought to be ashamed to work for the jail. We do need the jail trust to happen. But the death in no way would have been prevented by SB 252.
