Doña Ana County Manager Julia T. Brown has announced that Detention Center Administrator Chris Barela will return to his post on Monday, April 11. He has been on paid administrative leave sinceDec. 8, when Doña Ana County Sheriff's Department personnel arrested him and assumed temporary control of the jail.
“During the last seven days, all of the spurious felony charges leveled against Mr. Barela have either been dismissed or quashed by a grand jury as lacking basis,” Brown said. “We anticipated this outcome all along, and I’m delighted to put Mr. Barela back on the job, where he belongs.”
Brown said she is very grateful for the interim leadership of Capt. Vicki Hooser, who assumed control of the facility in the immediate aftermath of Barela’s arrest, and then again after Third Judicial District Judge Manuel Arrieta issued a Dec. 8 restraining order forcing Sheriff Kiki Vigil and his personnel to surrender the facility back to the control of the County Manager’s Office.
“Under difficult and tense circumstances, Capt. Hooser took over command of the facility and ran it without issue during Mr. Barela’s absence,” Brown said. “We are both grateful and fortunate to have such a strong chain of command at our detention facility, which she led with aplomb and professionalism while this unnecessary and unfortunate situation played out.”
Information from Doña Ana County