Long-closed Presidio County Jail to re-open

The Presidio County Jail is opening for the first time in two-and-a-half years today Wednesday after it passed inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.

Jail Administrator Mary Byrne said in the eight months she has been with the county, she and Sheriff Danny Dominguez have worked hard to prepare for the jail opening.

The county was facing financial problems if the jail did not pass the TCJS inspection and open by the end of January, but with the first federal prisoners expected to arrive Friday, they will begin to be reimbursed for some of their expenses.

“For me it’s a welcome relief to be able to house prisoners again,” Byrne said.

Despite the high stakes to get the jail up and running, Byrne said she did not feel pressure.

“You can listen to everybody if you want and have a bay if you want to or you can just go on the right path and get it done,” she said.

The next step is to have the jail inspected by the U.S. Marshals this Wednesday morning to have it approved for federal prisoners, Byrne said. The county will be reimbursed $65 per federal prisoner housed at the jail.

She said only one state prisoner from Presidio County is in Hudspeth County and she wasn’t sure if any were in Brewster County. Any prisoners out of county will be picked up this Wedensday morning.

County Judge Paul Hunt said he assumes there will be no surprises in the U.S. Marshals inspection.

Regardless, he said the county is now authorized to fill the jail to capacity.

“Now that we are allowed to take inmates, that’s what we need to do,” Hunt said. “We need to hustle and get the inmates in and the primary customer is going to be the U.S. Marshals.”

He said the entire county — including Presidio, the largest city — is going to be happy to have the jail as a closer place to transport prisoners.

“I spoke to the sheriff and he was very pleased and we told a couple good jokes about it,” Hunt said. “I think there’s certainly a feeling of relief in the county.”

Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson said he was happy the jail was opening but had some reservations about federal prisoners.

“It could be very positive for us now that we’ve got plenty of room to move people around and shuffle people between us,” he said. “The downside is if Presidio County gets on to the marshals for needing more and more prisoners, that could hurt us.

“I don’t want it to become a fighting match between Brewster County and Presidio County to get federal prisoners.”

Dominguez said the jail opening is a relief for him and to avoid any layoffs at the jail.

“It’s a big load off my mind but I can also understand why (they would have to fire people),” he said. “Of course, I was under a lot of pressure (before the inspection).”

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