SAN ANTONIO — It's been a rough month for the Bexar County Jail. In the span of a few weeks, three accused killers broke out and then this week another escape attempt was uncovered after the Texas Commission on Jail Standards found the jail isn't meeting minimum standards required by the state.
First, a rope made of bedding hanging from a hole in the recreation area gave three accused killers a way to climb down to a getaway car and enjoy about an hour of freedom - a plot state jail inspectors say the Bexar County Sheriff's Office knew about months before but failed to stop.
Then a hole, Sheriff Javier Salazar says, was made by 28-year-old inmate Martin Herrera with items found inside the jail, like a piece of brick he put in a sock. Hererra is accused of chipping away at the wall in his cells for months, raising questions about what kind of supervision inmates are receiving at the county jail.
"I was very, very concerned when the first breakout happened and sat down with the sheriff and asked him what happened here, what went wrong here," Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said.
KENS 5 asked for an interview with Sheriff Javier Salazar a day after the latest jail escape attempt but he was not available. In a press briefing Thursday, Salazar said his investigators are reviewing everything.
"Are you doing the right thing? Do you have the right folks on board? At this point, we haven't reached that point but it's certainly, that is causing us to review not just policies and procedures but personnel as well," Sheriff Salazar said.
On Thursday, Sheriff Salazar accepted the resignation of the deputy chief of the jail, Laura Balditt, a woman with 31 years of service at the sheriff's office. KENS 5 obtained documents about the salaries and experience of the jail's top staff, positions appointed by Salazar. The documents show that Deputy Balditt was making $115,000 a year, almost $15,000 less than her boss, Jail Assistant Chief Bobby Hogeland. According to records, Hogeland had no jail experience when he was hired just over a year ago.
On Friday, BCSO named a new deputy chief of detention at the jail. Ruben Vela is taking over for Deputy Chief Laura Balditt. Vela is a 34-year veteran with BCSO.