Sonoma County inmate tests positive for coronavirus, marking first confirmed case

An inmate at the Sonoma County Jail has tested positive for the coronavirus, the first confirmed case of the disease in the local detention system, which has closely monitored hundreds of people in custody and jail staff to prevent any outbreak.

The infected inmate, before his diagnosis, made a May 27 appearance in Sonoma County Superior Court, officials said Wednesday, when jail authorities learned of the positive test from public health officials. The revelation prompted an immediate pivot from the county’s presiding judge, who ordered a halt to court appearances involving defendants in jail custody.

The male inmate had been housed alone in a section of the main jail in Santa Rosa reserved for people who have been newly booked, according to Sonoma County Assistant Sheriff Al Vernon, who runs the county’s detention system. He learned of the positive test Wednesday morning after receiving a call from Sonoma County public health workers who administered the test.

The case presents new complications for the local detention system, which has taken into custody an increasing number of demonstrators arrested in nighttime Santa Rosa protests opposing police brutality and the death of minorities at the hands of officers.

That number spiked overnight Tuesday with a total of 110 newly admitted inmates, including more than 75 people arrested by Santa Rosa officers and some detained by other agencies. Not all were tied to the protests, and most that were involved misdemeanor violations of the city’s 8 p.m. curfew.

The jail has never seen such a one-time influx, Vernon said.

“That’s a historic record for us,” he said.

The surge comes in the wake of major changes to jail operations due to the pandemic. The jail is at half of its typical daily capacity because of state and local moves to reduce inmate populations. It has also put in place health screening of inmates and staff and tried to separate those in longer-term custody from newly booked inmates whose viral status is more of an unknown.

Jail officials were anticipating a jump in arrests and bookings with Santa Rosa’s curfew, beginning Monday, but they were not expecting anything like the wave of new inmates they saw Tuesday night and early Wednesday.

Social distancing under such circumstances was “impossible,” said Vernon. The protesters were kept together - and apart from other inmates - in holding cells at the main jail off Ventura Avenue, he said. Most were released Wednesday afternoon except for those who had outstanding warrants, he said.

“Last night was not a perfect situation but they were safe and secure,” Vernon said. “If people are unhappy, I don’t know what to tell them but we did the best we could and I’m proud of my staff.”

His comments came partly in response to complaints lodged by H-PEACE, a Sonoma County advocacy group that has helped provide medical and other help to protesters this week. Four members were arrested overnight and the group alleged that the jail had failed to provide individuals with adequate sanitary supplies. Many of those held together had to share one bar of soap, one member said. Her request for hand sanitizer and bleach wipes was rejected by jail deputies though she saw the wipes were readily available. She asked to withhold her name because of concern about her employer finding out about her arrest. (A Santa Rosa sergeant confirmed she was among arrestees.)

People taken in from the protests also were held in spaces they thought were too small for their numbers and did not provide enough room for social distancing, the group said in a written statement.

“While these conditions are unacceptable at any time, this is especially hazardous considering the coronavirus pandemic and the potential for increased spread of infection,” H-PEACE said in a written statement Wednesday.

Vernon, in response, said the jail reserved its supplies of hand sanitizer for staff members because of its limited supply. He said the release of the protesters had extended through Wednesday afternoon because the booking process by default is slow, taking four to six hours depending on the inmate.

“It’s not like you’re going through a drive-thru where you’re getting arrested and booked into jail,” he said.

The main jail on Wednesday afternoon held 482 inmates and the north county jail held 72, equating to a sum that is half of the typical daily average. The reduction is the result of state and local moves to keep low-risk defendants and offenders out of jail custody amid the pandemic.

The infected inmate was housed in a single-person cell, Vernon said. New inmates in such cells are isolated for 14 days before being moved to a separate section of the jail that holds general population inmates, or inmates have been in custody for a prolonged period of time, he added.

The inmate was offered a voluntary COVID-19 test by county public health workers, who have been going into the jail on a regular basis to test detainees before they are moved to areas where the general population is held, Vernon said.

Vernon declined to provide the inmate’s age and other details about his health status, citing privacy protections for medical information.

“We were able to catch the positive (case) before that person was transferred to the general population module,” Vernon said. “This person has been moved to a medical quarantine and is in a negative flow cell,” referring to units that have separate air circulation systems.

Karlene Navarro, the law enforcement auditor who oversees the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, said she learned of the positive test Wednesday morning during a call with Vernon. He told her 16 other inmates were tested along with the person who tested positive. The other tests came back negative.

She was waiting for more information from jail officials about any tracing protocols they intended to put in place to identify where the inmate contracted the disease and whether he may have spread it to others inside the facility.

Vernon said he had met with public health officials who are investigating how the inmate became infected and whether he had contacts with others that could have spread the virus.

“We’re all concerned,” Navarro said, noting that the inmate’s court appearance was before Judge Christopher Honigsberg, her spouse.

“He was in my husband’s courtroom last week,” she said.

Just this week, Sonoma County Superior Court took steps to resume a broader range of criminal cases, including those of defendants not in jail custody. It was unclear Wednesday evening to what extent the order from Presiding Judge Bradford DeMeo would alter the pace and schedule for criminal proceedings.

Navarro said she had received upwards of 100 ?emails and voice messages from people who lodged complaints about the jail’s treatment of arrested protesters. She said she would forward those complaints to internal investigators with the Sheriff’s Office. Their investigation would be subject to her review.

She also planned to ask the department to retain body-camera footage from jail deputies who were involved in guarding the protesters. They were held in a separate part of the jail from the infected inmate.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com.