The top administrator at the Doña Ana County Detention Center was arrested Tuesday morning, and Sheriff Enrique “Kiki” Vigil took control of the jail and placed it on lockdown.
Courtesy photo
Enrique “Kiki” Vigil
Later Tuesday, County Manager Julia Brown interrupted Vigil’s second news conference of the day to hand him a restraining order requiring the sheriff to give up control of the jail and his staff to vacate the facility.
As Brown walked away, and with the media watching, Vigil called the move “backdoor” and said he was considering how to respond.
The order, signed by District Judge Manuel I. Arrieta, stated that Vigil “is without any legal authority” to issue an order that interferes with the administration of the jail. It required him to return control to county management immediately.
An hour after Brown handed Vigil the judge’s order, around 5 p.m., officials from the sheriff’s department left the jail, county spokesman Jess Williams confirmed.
While county officials were battling for control of the jail, its administrator, Chris Barela, was hit with a felony charge of embezzlement over $20,000 or fraud over $20,000 in the alternative. He also faces charges of bringing contraband (a dangerous weapon) into the jail and willful neglect of duty, sheriff’s investigator Ken Roberts said at a news conference held Tuesday morning after Barela’s arrest.
Barela was taken to a jail in another county to be booked, but officials would not disclose the location.
The embezzlement/fraud charge relates to allegations that Barela misused money in the Inmate Welfare Fund. The fund, which had nearly $800,000 in July, comes from a portion of profits on toiletries, snack items and other goods inmates purchase from a private vendor, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported in September.
The fund is used to purchase items such as books, games and cable TV for inmates, and also to pay inmates who work at the jail.
On Tuesday, Vigil and District Attorney Mark D’Antonio filed charges after months of investigating use of the fund. Barela’s arrest is the newest chapter in an ongoing saga involving Vigil and county leaders.
At Tuesday morning’s news conference — the first of two — Vigil accused the county manager and attorney of threatening sheriff’s officers who took control of the jail and “trying to cause turmoil.” He criticized county administration for taking away his public information officer, Kelly Jameson. And he accused the county of failing to fully comply with subpoenas related to the investigation.
In such a climate, “I had no choice but to take over the county jail to assure the safety of the personnel and the safety of all inmates that have been detained,” Vigil said.
D’Antonio called for cooperation from county government leaders.
“This is not a witch hunt or a manhunt. We’re here to serve justice,” he said.
Jameson couldn’t be reached for comment, nor could County Commission Chairman Billy Garrett.
Vigil and some county commissioners began fighting over revenue from a tax increase soon after he took office in January. Vigil, complaining about his department being underfunded, cut some services. County administration also cut back, closing the juvenile jail and instead housing children in an area in the adult facility to keep up staffing levels. Barela and jail staff work for the county manager, not the sheriff.
The situation spiraled into a battle that has included dueling investigations and Vigil filing a federal lawsuit alleging retaliation by Garrett and Commissioner Wayne Hancock.
Barela and the jail have been near the center of the fighting. In August a grand jury subpoenaed county records related to the inmate fund. At the time, Barela told ABC-7 that he thought Vigil intended to take over the jail.
“Fine, you want to take over the jail Kiki? Ok, but do it like a man with integrity,” the TV station quoted Barela as saying. “Go to the commission let them know you want the jail let them know you think you can run it better than I. Don’t go and resurrect things that have already been investigated and have been put away just to dirty my name so you can create public hatred towards me.”
At Tuesday’s news conference, Vigil rejected the suggestion that he’s trying to take over the jail.
“As sheriff I have an obligation to secure the detention facility,” he said. “This is only temporary.”
Meanwhile, D’Antonio said he told commissioners days ago to prepare for a possible disruption at the jail, without going into specifics about plans to arrest Barela. D’Antonio and Vigil also asked other state and local agencies for assistance. Vigil said the warden at Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility is ready to assist with jail operations if necessary. Other law-enforcement agencies were on standby in case there was any public safety threat during the time of turmoil.
Vigil said detention center guards were cooperating with sheriff’s employees who took control of the jail. He only accused top administrators and commissioners in county government of not cooperating.
Vigil also said the state attorney general and auditor were involved. He said the investigation is ongoing and a forensic audit would begin Tuesday.
Spokespersons for both state agencies confirmed being aware of the situation, but the AG referred questions to the sheriff’s department. Justine Freeman, spokeswoman for the auditor’s office, confirmed that the sheriff is conducting a forensic audit using a private firm approved by her agency.
D’Antonio called for county administrators and commissioners to assist the investigation.
“We can go two ways – they can cooperate with us or we can issue search warrants,” he said.
Last month Barela said the county should be on track to reopen the juvenile facility by May. Vigil said Tuesday that Barela’s arrest shouldn’t affect that timeline.
He was vague on how long he’ll control the jail.
“Might be two, three days. I’ll be doing an assessment,” Vigil said. “When that time comes, we’ll relinquish that.”