2 More Santa Clara County Jail Guards Arrested For Alleged Misconduct
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – Two more Santa Clara County Sheriff's correctional deputies have been arrested for alleged misconduct, the latest officers of the beleaguered department to be taken off the job.
According to a statement from the sheriff's office, Deputy Ryan Saunders was arrested Friday on eight misdemeanor counts. Authorities said Saunders illegally accessed confidential records of people he knew from the Criminal Justice Information Control database.
Authorities also arrested Deputy Mark Navarrete on suspicion of workers' compensation fraud. Navarrette allegedly filed claims he was injured on the job after sustaining an off-duty injury playing softball, the sheriff's office said.
Saunders and Navarette were booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on Friday.
The arrests come weeks after three deputies were charged with murder in the August 26th death of Santa Clara County Main Jail inmate Michael Tyree. Authorities said Tyree was beaten to death in his cell and died of multiple blunt force injuries and internal bleeding in his spleen.
Deputies Matthew Farris, Jereh Lubrin and Rafael Rodriguez have been charged in Tyree's death. All three deputies have posted bail and are scheduled to enter pleas at a hearing on October 13th.
Along with the arrests, five other deputies have been placed on leave. Among them, Santa Clara County Correctional Police Officers' Association president Lance Scimeca, who criticized the department for reopening investigations against officers. Scimeca in a YouTube video said the investigations "harkens back to the Salem Witch Trials from 1692."