Offenders Await Judge’S Decision Twelve Voluntarily Re-Enter Supervision, But 37 Others Leaving Fate Up To Court

A Superior Court judge will decide next month whether to reinstate dozens of people under Department of Corrections supervision after the agency mistakenly released them from probation.

Seven people voluntarily re-entered DOC supervision Monday as the agency hustled to correct its 7-month-old blunder.

Judge Greg Sypolt held a hearing Monday on the state’s request to reinstate supervision.

A total of 12 offenders have voluntarily re-entered supervision. But 37 have decided for now to leave their fate up to Sypolt at another hearing set for Jan. 4.

A computer error and a lack of oversight by DOC staff led to the mix-up that released the offenders from supervision in April. Some had been convicted of such crimes as robbery, drug possession and assault.

Terry Heidi, who decided to rejoin DOC supervision on Monday, took a shot at the agency for its mistake.

“This wasted a lot of time and lot of people’s money,” Heidi said.

Michael Steinmetz said he volunteered to be reinstated because he “just wanted to get it over with.”

Not everyone was as eager.

“I think this is a violation of our rights, though we are criminals in the public’s eyes,” said John Livingston, who said the DOC should live with its mistake.

Livingston said even though he was free of DOC supervision he continued to pay restitution and court costs, which all the offenders are still legally required to do. He estimated he’s paid $500 of the $7,000 in restitution he owes.

“I’m not expecting that to go away,” Livingston said. “But you know what, I had to take a half-day of work to come here and now I’m getting shorted money. Are they going to help me pay for their mistake? I doubt it.”

State Assistant Attorney General Dawn Cortez said she was confident Sypolt had the power to reinstate all the offenders in the case.

“They’re still under the same conditions as they were before this happened,” Cortez said. If Sypolt doesn’t reinstate DOC supervision, the court probably would have to monitor the offenders itself because it had ordered they be supervised, Cortez said.

Cortez added that most of those mistakenly removed from supervision would be free of DOC monitoring sometime next year anyway when their sentences were scheduled to end.

Bernard Robinson decided to rejoin DOC supervision after Cortez told him he had only one month left to serve.

But he made that decision after much confusion.

Robinson was convicted of third-degree assault of his girlfriend two years ago. The court imposed a no-contact order against him on Jan. 11, 1999, but court papers show the order was soon lifted by a judge. Robinson said, however, that he never knew the order was lifted.

Robinson moved in with his girlfriend after learning he’d been dropped from DOC supervision. They now are expecting a child.

Robinson became livid when he arrived in court Monday and learned Cortez was trying to reinstate his supervision. He thought he’d have to comply with the no-contact order.

Robinson can’t afford a lawyer. Only three of the 37 remaining offenders mistakenly released from supervision have attorneys.

Sypolt, at the request of the county Public Defender’s Office, declined to extend free legal advice. Public defender Don Westerman said his office is too swamped to handle the request.

Stacy Floyd said she is hopeful the judge will rule against the DOC next month.

She stopped making restitution payments since being notified she was free of supervision. The payments cost her at least $200 a month. “I thought everything was over because I haven’t heard from anyone or asked to make one payment,” Floyd said. “This is a terrible inconvenience.”