BIKER NEWS: Santa Clara County: Two more jail deputies arrested

BN- SAN JOSE -- As part of a widening array of internal investigations magnified by the beating death of a mentally ill inmate, two more Santa Clara County correctional deputies were arrested Friday, one accused of illegally using a criminal database for personal use, and the other of workers' compensation fraud.

Their cases predate the investigation into the deadly Aug. 26 beating of Michael Tyree at the Main Jail, which spurred murder charges against three other correctional deputies and prompted elected officials to promise a host of reforms of the county's jail facilities, with pointed attention at misconduct by jail staffers.

The two jail deputies arrested Friday are Ryan Saunders and Mark Navarrete, both of whom have more than 10 years experience on the job, according to officials from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, which oversees the county jails. They were booked at the Main Jail, where their initial bail was set at $20,000 each.

Both have been on paid administrative leave since Sept. 17.

"The Sheriff's Office has high expectations of every individual who has taken the sworn oath to uphold the law," Sheriff Laurie Smith said in a statement. "Sadly, if these allegations are true, these deputies did not live up to the standards of our office and they violated the public trust and for that they must be held accountable."

Saunders was booked on eight misdemeanor counts for allegedly accessing confidential records from the Criminal Justice Information Control database to get information about "people he had personal relationships with," according to the Sheriff's Office.

Investigators also contend that Saunders associated with a known member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, according to court documents. That would be a violation of department conduct rules and a fireable offense.

In a separate investigation, Navarrete was booked on two felony counts for violating the California penal code and state insurance code after he allegedly claimed workers' compensation for an off-duty softball injury.

To date, five correctional deputies -- including the three in the Tyree case --have been arrested, and three more are on leave in connection with criminal investigations launched by the Sheriff's Office based on alleged misconduct. All eight officers -- including the local correctional officers' union president -- are on paid administrative leave.

More arrests could follow: Smith said this week that detectives are reviewing more than 100 complaints -- for use of force or otherwise -- filed since Tyree died.

Because of uncertainty about who might get caught in what officials admit is a wide investigatory net, the agency has taken several extraordinary steps that include moving key investigators out of the sheriff's headquarters to an off-site location to physically restrict access to sensitive intelligence.

Sheriff's officials also have brought in retired internal affairs deputies to examine use-of-force grievances. An outside law firm was tapped to continue investigating the three deputies charged in Tyree's death in response to accusations of bias after Smith made strong public statements condemning the deputies' alleged crimes.

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_28913907/two-more-jail-guards-arrested