EAGLE, Colo. — An accused man remains jailed on a $10,000 cash-only bond despite a judge previously finding him suitable for release without posting money, after an insurance disability waiver derailed the assisted living placement required for his release.
The accused, who is charged with second-degree assault, was supposed to be released on a personal recognizance bond into an assisted living facility. But when an insurance disability waiver became a barrier to placement at the last minute, the release plan collapsed and he remained in the Eagle County jail.
The accused appeared in custody Tuesday before Eagle County Court and faces three open cases, including a felony second-degree assault charge that still carries preliminary hearing rights.
The accused was previously the subject of competency proceedings. His attorney confirmed to the court that he has since been found competent to proceed.
Much of Tuesday’s hearing focused on untangling the accused’s bond status after the court’s e-filing system showed personal recognizance, or PR, bonds on file even though his attorney said those bonds never actually took effect.
According to the defense, the parties had secured an assisted living placement for the accused, and the judge granted a PR bond conditioned on his entering that facility.
But the insurance disability waiver required for the placement became a barrier at the last minute. The facility fell through, the conditions of the PR bond were never satisfied, and the accused remained in jail.
“There may be some PR bonds reflected, but those never actually came to pass because of the assisted living situation falling through,” his attorney told the court, asking that the records be corrected to reflect the original bond.
The judge made a record that bond in the felony case was set at $10,000 cash only, that on June 3 the bond was to be conditionally modified and that those conditions never came to fruition.
The bond, the judge stated, has remained and still remains $10,000 cash only.
The accused’s attorney told the court the defense is continuing to pursue other assisted living placements but continues to encounter barriers.
The result is that the accused remains incarcerated not because the court rejected his release, but because the support system necessary to carry out the court-approved release plan could not be put in place.
The defense also pressed the prosecution on a possible resolution. The accused’s attorney asked whether the deputy district attorney intended to extend a global offer covering the Eagle County cases and potentially a case in Garfield County.
She noted the accused has now been in custody for a long time and said she did not want to return for another hearing with nothing changed.
“Since he has been in custody now for so long, I would like to move forward with a preliminary hearing setting,” she said.
The deputy district attorney said the prosecution does intend to offer a global resolution but must first consult the victim under the Victim Rights Act before extending it.
The deputy district attorney said an answer could come by the end of the week.
The court set the felony case for a preliminary hearing Sept. 4 at 2 p.m., with the misdemeanor case set alongside it. If the defense waives the hearing, the matter can instead be added to the Aug. 18 docket.
Bond arguments may be made at the next court date.
The case highlights the consequences that can follow when a person’s pretrial release depends on access to disability services outside the courtroom.
The court found the accused appropriate for release on a PR bond so long as he had an assisted living placement to support him. What ultimately kept him in custody was not a new judicial finding that he posed a risk requiring detention, but an insurance disability waiver that prevented the planned placement from moving forward.
When that system failed, jail became the default, with the original $10,000 cash-only bond remaining in place.
The result is a form of wealth- and disability-based detention: A person the court determined could be released with appropriate support remains incarcerated because that support could not be arranged and he has not posted the cash bond required for release.
The discrepancy also required the court to formally clarify the record after the e-filing system continued to reflect PR bonds that had never taken effect.
For an accused man with a history of competency proceedings who requires assisted living, each additional month in jail is not a neutral wait. His continued incarceration means remaining in custody while attorneys search for a placement capable of satisfying the conditions the court already determined would permit his release.
The next opportunity to change that situation will come at his next court date.
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