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Exclusive: A bus crisis thwarts a Los Angeles courthouse after local powerhouses cut funding for the sheriff’s office in a lengthy feud.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and the Los Angeles County Oversight Board have allocated funds to maintain a fleet of prison transport buses since Villanueva took office.
“The board doesn’t care at all about public safety or the constitutional rights of inmates,” said Villanueva, who accused the board of waging personal revenge against him. I don’t care who they hurt. “
The collateral damage from power struggles has had far-reaching consequences.
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According to Villanueva and prosecutors, the agency’s prisoner buses are operating at only 50% capacity, causing significant delays in courts and, in some cases, complete dismissals.
The Board of Oversight consists of five members and is the governing body of Los Angeles County. Members he is elected for four-year terms and distributes funds to various departments, including the Sheriff’s Office.
The commission has not purchased a single bus to transport prisoners since Villanueva took office in December 2018, said the sheriff’s director who runs the county jail and acts as court security. increase.
Prior to Villanueva’s tenure, he typically purchased five buses a year to replace aging ones.
In 2018, there were about 60 buses dedicated to transporting inmates to and from the 37 Los Angeles Superior Courts scattered throughout the county, Villanueva said.
But due to lack of funds, there are only 30 functioning buses to carry 1,200 to 1,500 prisoners a day, Mr Villanueva said, adding that the board has not cashed in for repairs. added.
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Sheriff’s offices have relied on vans that carry only 12 passengers to supplement their operations, as opposed to buses that can hold 47 to 53 inmates per vehicle. This also results in delegates working significant and unnecessary overtime.
“We have a constant breakdown clumsiness on the road,” he added. “When one of our buses breaks down, he’s full of very dangerous prisoners.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Chief Prosecutor Jason Lustig said the bus shortage was “a headache for the entire court system.”
Lustig did not speak on behalf of the prosecutor’s office, but in his personal capacity as a citizen of the county.
“It’s becoming like a third world court system,” he said. “Everyone is waiting all day to see if and when an inmate appears in court, and taxpayers are paying for it.”
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A private defense attorney representing the impoverished defendant has asked the county to wait all day, and police officers awaiting hearings are working overtime, he said.
Civilian witnesses who often have to take time off from work for hearings may have to return the next day because the inmates do not materialize.
Lustig said that sometimes witnesses never come back and the case must be dismissed.
The problem has gotten particularly bad over the past five months, Lustig said, taking its toll.
“When the public comes to court and sees that the system is not working, it creates a sense of distrust in court,” he told Fox News Digital.
Villanueva faces a tough runoff against Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna, who retired in November.
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Four of the five overseers voted to include on the next ballot a bill asking voters to give the board the power to remove elected sheriffs. Villanueva called the move a “cheesy political stunt.”
The commission and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately return requests for comment.
Matteo Cina contributed to this report.