When Fidel Tafoya was arrested at Fresno State, he was a parolee at large. And a warrant had been issued for his arrest.
“He had a GPS but he obviously cut it off so we wouldn't know where he was and what he was up to,” said Luis Patino with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Eight days after cutting off his ankle monitor Tafoya was arrested for assaulting a student in the Madden Library at Fresno State.
This isn't the first time Tafoya been in trouble since his release from prison.
He was arrested for a parole violation in November of 2011. Another in April of this yeaR. And again in August.
Before prison realignment took effect, Tafoya would have been sent back to prison for at least a year for violating parole.
But after realignment, parole violators are given county jail time.
Records obtained by CBS47 show that Tafoya either served a fraction of the jail time given or no time at all.
“The counties decide whether to accept or retain parole violators in their jails. And the state provides all 58 counties with added funding for realignment,” Patino said.
Fresno Sheriff Margaret Mims says her jail has been overwhelmed with parolees and parole violators since realignment took effect. A 200 percent increase in the past year.
And Tafoya will stay locked up until his parole board hearing.
“He is in custody. He has quite a criminal history. He's one of those guys that we feel if he's out he's going to re-offend,” Mims said.
