A DeKalb County woman was released from jail Tuesday, days after her family said it was prepared to bond her out but was told computer problems prevented her release.
DeKalb authorities, however, while acknowledging the jail did experience a “computer shutdown” due to water main problems experienced across the county, contend the issue was not the primary reason Maria Gomez-Rosales’ release was delayed.
Gomez-Rosales, 27, was arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge Friday after a family fight, according to her lawyer, Andrew Fernandez.
Fernandez said the family tried to post bond Friday and again Sunday to get Gomez-Rosales released but was told necessary release papers could not be produced because of the computer problems.
“They (jailers) say they are really backed up and have no idea when they will receive the paperwork or when she will finally be released,” Fernandez said Tuesday.
The delay in releasing Gomez-Rosales, however, had more to do with the backlog of inmates who had to be processed for release ahead of the woman, who had special conditions placed on her case by a magistrate, according to DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Cynthia Williams.
“The computer shutdown due to the water main breakage did impact her release, but only because once her paperwork was processed and her bond paid, she was immediately in a queue with more than the usual number of other inmates waiting to be released for various reasons,” Williams said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution late Tuesday.
The jail also said a magistrate didn’t set Gomez-Rosales’ bond until Saturday and that the jail did not receive the necessary notice until Monday.
Gomez-Rosales’ lawyer, however, disputed the jail’s account.
“They did not input the bond into the system until I started calling on the 27th,” Fernandez said. “It wasn’t ‘paid ‘until the 27th because she had ‘no bond’ status until the 27th. They would not let the family pay it.”
The lawyer added that his client “served an unnecessary 3-4 days in jail because their system was down and they did not input the bond until the 27th. Then they delayed another day after bond [the bond was paid] to release her.”
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