An off-agenda item created quite a bit of discussion, and a brief amount of humor, at Monday’s Riley County law board meeting. Board member Loren Pepperd expressed concern about bond amounts in some recent shooting cases, indicating he thought $7,500 as was reported in one recent case, seemed low. In fact he got a few chuckles when he made a suggestion for such cases of sending inmates to Mexico until their court date.
Riley County Police director Brad Schoen explained how the bond process is handled, indicating there is a bond schedule police refer to when setting amounts. But Schoen emphasized every case is different and a variety of factors are involved. Judges also can raise or lower bond amounts. Schoen did admit bond amounts in Riley County are somewhat lower than surrounding jurisdictions, and he would be meeting with judges in the near future for further consideration
More discussion about mental health cost concerns at Monday’s meeting. Board Chair Karen McCulloh brought up one of the main concerns when it comes to treating mental health cases, and that is a need for a facility. No action was taken on the matter as it was slated for discussion only.
It may only be August, but Riley county Law board members are already mentioning Fake Patty’s day, with a request from one of the law board members to check on a July event held annually in Junction City. Board member Pepperd had asked about the July fourth Sundown Salute weekend and how it is handled, with Director Schoen reporting on a recent conversation with law enforcement authorities in Junction City. Schoen stresses the two events are quite different in a number of respects such as demographics bars being more spread out, and mostly family involvement.
Pepperd thanked Schoen for the time he had put in on the matter, with word that Sundown Salute actually cleared $20,000 over the five day event, despite overtime for law enforcement
