Charges dropped for sick illegal alien

AJC Exclusive: Inmate's medical bill reaches $400,000 while in Douglas County custody

An illegal immigrant charged with trafficking cocaine worth millions of dollars suffered a massive stroke in the Douglas County jail earlier this year and ran up $400,000 in medical bills that were charged to the county.

Authorities in Douglas decided to dismiss the charges against Luis Luna Baro, 71 -- in large part because the county didn't want to cover his bills anymore, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.

"He was an illegal alien," District Attorney David McDade said. "He did not have legal status to be in the United States, and the taxpayers were going to be asked to pay for his care. Is justice served by dismissing charges when the man has basically been sentenced by God? ... I think so."

Baro's case is an extreme example, but city and county jails all over metro Atlanta face the same challenge: paying medical expenses for illegal immigrants who happen to be lodged in the jail when they get sick, or who bring chronic illnesses to jail with them. Local law enforcement officials say Douglas County did the right thing and saved its taxpayers a whopping bill.

Contacted by the AJC, immigration attorneys, however, have questioned whether county officials bent the law to save money and abandoned an inmate who the lawyers said was the county's responsibility.

These issues elicit strong opinions across metro Atlanta.

"We are paying too much for exactly this kind of thing," said Don Nash, 54, of Canton, who works in home improvement. "They just keep coming. ... We end up paying for it."

The country, Nash said, needs to tighten both is borders and its immigration policies.

Joseph Rosen, a Roswell attorney who represents immigrants, said it isn't right for authorities to drop charges simply to save taxpayer dollars.

"I really don't think you dismiss criminal charges for anything other than prosecutorial reasons," Rosen said.

Baro's situation came to light a few weeks ago when the Douglas County Commission granted the sheriff's office money to replenish the fund for inmate medical costs.

Baro, described as a mid-level dealer with a record of trafficking and possession, was responsible for putting together the metro Atlanta drug deal, said Jack Killorin, director of the Atlanta High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area unit.

Killorin said Baro bought about 20 pounds of cocaine that would have been worth between $10 million and $20 million on the street, depending on how it was cut.

Baro, an illegal immigrant from Cuba living in Miami, was driving through Douglas County in November. Atlanta is a major supply point for Mexican drugs to reach Miami, rather than the other way around, said Killorin, whose unit tracks drug dealing to uncover major sources.

Baro and an alleged accomplice, Jose Arturo Vega, were traveling in separate vehicles when they were stopped in Douglas County on Nov. 9.

Authorities pulled over Vega's gray Volkswagen Passat on a tinted-window violation on I-20. An officer noticed that Vega became increasingly nervous during the stop. Then the officer spotted some tooling on the screws to the rear seat. He asked for Vega's permission to search the vehicle, and Vega signed a document permitting it.

Under the rear seat, the officer found 10 kilo-sized packages of cocaine, according to authorities. Each was the size of a brick and weighed two pounds.

Baro was not carrying drugs in his vehicle; he allegedly was supervising the operation, Killorin said. When Baro was arrested, he was denied bond.

In the spring, Baro had his stroke and was in a coma for two weeks before undergoing several surgeries.

Stan Copeland, Douglas County's chief sheriff's deputy, said he looked into the possibility of deporting the illegal Cuban immigrant, but was told it couldn't be done.

Deporting Cuban immigrants is difficult for several reasons, according to Barbara Gonzalez, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman. Cubans generally have an easier time becoming legal immigrants. Once they reach U.S. shores, they can apply for legal status after a year. A Cuban immigrant can't become legal if he or she has a criminal record.

But deporting Cuban immigrants is difficult, because Cuba often won't approve the paperwork, Gonzalez said.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, said the days of granting Cuban immigrants easy access to legal status in this country should end. He said the policies were rooted in the Cold War.

"Cuba is no longer an outpost for an aggressive foreign empire," said Krikorian, whose group supports tighter controls on immigration. "It is just another sorry Third World country."

Because Baro was in Douglas custody when he had the stroke, the county was responsible for the bill. Baro was paralyzed over much of his body and was not expected to recover his movement. He probably needed to be in a nursing home, Copeland said.

The sheriff's office had a catastrophic insurance policy in place for inmates. It held the county responsible for a $100,000 deductible and covered up to $500,000. Baro's bills were closing in on the cap. Once the costs exceed that, the bill would fall to the county.

Copeland said there were other reasons for dropping the charges beside the rising medical tab, notably the fact that Baro was so incapacitated he couldn't defend himself.

McDade, the DA, said he did the right thing in dropping the charges. Other metro Atlanta sheriffs have supported the Douglas prosecutor's action.

Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway estimated that inmates who are illegal immigrants cost Gwinnett taxpayers up to $500,000 a year in medical costs. He said all inmates cost the county $6 million in medical costs annually. When an inmate is set to run up a big county medical tab, the sheriff's department looks for alternatives.

"If circumstances allow it, we try to release them," Conway said. "I've got to look out for the taxpayers."

Col. Don Bartlett of the Cobb County Sheriff's Office said if an inmate becomes incapacitated to the point that prosecution can't go forward, the sheriff could ask the prosecutor to drop the charges or work out a bond that allows the inmate to leave the system. At the same time, if an inmate has committed a serious crime, needs major surgery and will recover, the department often pays the medical bill, allows the inmate to recover and moves forward with the case, Bartlett said.

Considering few inmates have their own health insurance, Rosen said the county likely shifted the costs to some hospital, which will pass it on to other patients and taxpayers through indigent care costs.

Charles Kuck, a University of Georgia adjunct law professor, said bending the rules to remove an inmate from a county's responsibility can border on medical abandonment.

"Just because he's illegal, the county doesn't get away with not taking care of his medical care," said Kuck, who also is an immigration attorney.

The charges against Baro were dropped on May 14, six months after his arrest. Insufficient evidence was the reason cited on the arrest warrant.

The next day, Baro was released from the hospital into the care of family members, said Sandra Jerkins, Douglas sheriff's department records supervisor.

It was now up to those family members to find medical care for Baro.

http://www.ajc.com/news/charges-dropped-for-sick-605859.html