This story was told by a person incarcerated at San Joaquin County Jail.
Caller: In the middle of all this happening in my life is when COVID hit, canceling out programs like my AWP work program that I was supposed to be sentenced to originally. So, on a warm summer night on my way home from work, I was pulled over for speeding. I was then informed of a no-bail warrant out for my arrest due to not having completed my AWP program yet. Where in a normal situation it would require me to be taken to jail overnight, and I would then see the judge the following morning to reset the ramifications for completing my program.
Now, keep in mind that AWP program had been canceled due to the COVID. And being that I was over in Alameda County, I was taken over to Santa Rita Jail to await transport to San Joaquin County. Unfortunately, it was on a Friday, which meant I had to wait until Monday, which ended up being Tuesday, to transport over to the other jail. Upon my arrival, I was informed that Santa Rita was highly infected with COVID, and they treated me like I was radioactive.
They immediately threw me in an isolation cell equivalent to being in the hole for the next 16 days before they let me see the judge even though I had no COVID. It ended up being 384 hours that I spent in there in the hole, where I was only let out of my cell for a total of eight hours of that time, being that they only let me out for one hour every other day. And then the judge sentenced me to nine more days back in the hole to just finish out a 30-day sentence and be done with it all.
