3rd Santa Clara Co. Deputy Accused Of Murdering Inmate Granted Bail

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – The last of three Santa Clara County correctional deputies charged in the murder of an inmate last month was granted bail Tuesday.

Matthew Farris, 27, was allowed to post $1.5 million bail Tuesday with three properties and a bail bond approved by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Allison Danner during a hearing Tuesday afternoon at the Hall of Justice in San Jose.

• Another Inmate Dies In Custody At Santa Clara County Jail

Under state law, the equity for the properties must be twice the amount of the required bail. The remainder after the total equity was paid through a Sacramento bail bond agency.

Once the bond is posted, Farris can be released from jail, Danner said.

Farris along with two other deputies, Jereh Lubrin, 28, and Rafael Rodriguez, 27, were charged with murder for the death of 31-year-old Michael Tyree and assault under the color of authority for the alleged beating of another inmate, Juan Villa, on the night of Aug. 26.

Prosecutors allege Tyree was beaten to death in his cell on the sixth floor of the Main Jail, where he was pronounced dead early on the morning of Aug. 27.

An autopsy revealed Tyree died of multiple blunt force injuries and internal bleeding in his spleen, according to the county medical examiner's office.

The three deputies were arrested Sept. 3 and booked into Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. Their bail was set on Sept. 18 at $1.5 million each, which Lubrin and Rodriguez have already posted, court spokesman Joe Macaluso said.

All three deputies are scheduled for a plea hearing on Oct. 13.

Murder
Crime