By Jim Hannah
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Thomas Stone was caught walking a Covington street packing a stolen handgun.
Robert Meyer fought Newport police trying to stop him from dealing drugs outside a school.
Garry Andrews has a long history of stealing, including driving a stolen car.
These convicted felons are among 328 who will walk free today as Gov. Paul Patton continues to release nonviolent state inmates as a way to cope with Kentucky's $500 million deficit. In December, he released 567 inmates.
"This is extremely frustrating for me and my staff," said Campbell County Commonwealth's Attorney Jack Porter.
"They need to look somewhere else to save money. Buy a few less dump trucks, but don't let multiple convicted felons out of jail."
An Enquirer analysis shows that 23 of the inmates who will be released at 8 a.m. today were prosecuted for crimes committed in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties.
Many of the 23 landed in prison after breaking the law multiple times over the years, records show. Mr. Patton says he will not release any violent offenders, but local prosecutors expressed concern about several inmates slated to walk free.
"If the concern is the community's safety, I feel the streets are less safe by Mr. Meyer's release," said Mr. Porter, whose office successfully prosecuted the drug dealer.
"You can't tell me someone who fights with police is safe."
Mr. Meyer, 55, was put in the Green River Correctional Complex after being convicted of trafficking in a controlled substance, two counts of being a persistent felony offender, possession of a controlled substance and wanton endangerment.
Mr. Porter said that by just glancing at Mr. Meyer's criminal record, it doesn't look like he is a violent offender. But he said a closer look at the file in the Campbell Circuit Court Clerk's Office shows the charge of wanton endangerment stems from a fight with police.
That's goes to the source of an unanimous complaint prosecutors in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties had about Gov. Patton's commutations: The governor didn't consult prosecutors - the officials who know the cases best - before deciding.
Boone County Commonwealth's Attorney Linda Tally Smith said she had never been provided with a list of inmates convicted by her office who walked free in the previous inmate release in December. Until a reporter brought it to her attention this week, Ms. Smith was unaware an inmate she prosecuted on theft charges had been released.
Christopher Capobianco, 24, of Jackson, N.J., was caught in May 2000 stealing a shopping cart filled with $5,005.54 worth of test kits for diabetics from a Florence department store.
"Why are we letting people like that out of jail," Ms. Smith said. "He came down from the Northeast to engage in organized crime in Northern Kentucky. He drove the interstates stealing sugar test kits for diabetics to supply a demand on the black market."
During Mr. Capobianco's sentencing, Boone Circuit Judge Jay Bamberger recommended the New Jersey man receive drug treatment for his heroin addiction. But Mr. Capobianco wrote the judge in September, after learning he was being considered for early release, to say he had received no drug treatment while in prison.
"I am in need of intensive and extensive treatment for my heroin addiction," Mr. Capobianco wrote the judge. "I'll not be able to become a productive member of society."
. "We are in a situation that threatens the integrity of our justice system," said Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Bill Crockett. "I will continue to prosecute cases that deserve to be prosecuted whether the governor likes it or not."
Mr. Crockett has focused on prosecuting criminals who commit crimes with guns and is upset about Mr. Stone's release.
The 27-year-old was convicted in July 2001 of theft by unlawful taking and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Mr. Stone ran from Covington police, who tried to arrest him as he carried a stolen handgun, Mr. Crockett said. Mr. Stone tossed the gun into some bushes as he ran, but officers found it and apprehended Mr. Stone.
"Had he not been stopped when he was, would he have used a gun to commit a violent crime?" Mr. Crockett asked.
Another questionable release, Mr. Porter said, is that of Mr. Andrews, 33. He is convicted of theft by unlawful taking, criminal mischief, two counts of being a persistent felony offender, bail jumping and receiving stolen property.
"He is a multiple felony offender," Mr. Porter said. "He committed another theft while out on parole last time. What will keep him from doing it again?"
Mr. Crockett accused Mr. Patton of "playing games," and the early releases have now become a political issue across the state.
"I don't believe that a `get out of jail free' card for convicted criminals is the right way to fix the complicated budget crisis facing Kentucky," said U.S. Rep. Ernie Fletcher of Lexington, a Republican candidate for governor. "The Patton administration has made a very risky decision, while placing our communities around the commonwealth at greater risk of more crimes."
E-mail jhannah@enquirer.com
