On May 15, EverythingLubbock.com reported that United States District Court Judge Sam Cummings threatened to hold the Federal Bureau of Prisons in contempt. A routine check of public records this week showed that the judge withdrew his threat on May 29.
Roberto Garcia, 55, was sentenced to prison time on a child pornography charge. He was ordered to surrender himself to prison on May 15 no later than 2:00 pm, and the court recommended his sentence be served in Bastrop. Garcia showed up only to be turned away from the prison.
The judge ordered the Bureau of Prisons to show cause as to why it should not be held in contempt. The Bureau of Prisons on May 28 asked the judge to reconsider his threat.
The written request said, “This inadvertent oversight resulted from a backlog of cases awaiting further medical review, and not from deliberate disregard of the Court’s order.”
Although the court can suggest which prison a defendant goes to, the final decision is made by the Bureau of Prisons. In this case BOP never made that decision.
The BOP’s written request also said, “[Garcia’s] placement designation required an additional level of review due to documented medical issues, and currently the additional reviews are taking longer than usual due to staffing shortages at the Bureau of Prisons.”
The judge granted the request, and so the BOP will not be held in contempt. Garcia’s deadline to surrender himself to prison has been extended to June 12.
