Ex-Peruvian president released to home custody in US over virus concerns

Former Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo will be released into home custody amid concerns he may contract the coronavirus, a federal magistrate ruled Thursday.

As federal, state and local officials contemplate measures to reduce prison populations in response to the outbreak, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixson allowed Toledo to await potential extradition on corruption charges in home detention. He said Toledo poses less of a flight risk because the "pandemic has changed the ability to leave the country and get into a different country."

Toledo's release is part of an effort from some law enforcement officials, judges and attorneys to take steps to thin prison populations who may contract the coronavirus.

On Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathaniel Cousins issued a standing order urging attorneys not to "delay in evaluating whether any defendant should have his or her detention hearing reopened."

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin on Tuesday took measures to reduce the number of inmates in the county's jail. He joined a small minority of 30 other prosecutors around the nation calling for the release of the those who cannot afford cash bail, are within six months of finishing their sentences and the elderly. They also asked police to release suspects they typically arrest for nonviolent offenses. There are some 3,000 heads of county prosecuting offices in the United States.

Los Angeles County has reduced its jail population and reduced the number of arrests deputies are making, according to Sheriff Alex Villanueva.

Former San Francisco Assistant Federal Public Defender Ed Swanson described this as the first time in his experience judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys have all agreed the release of defendants awaiting trial was in society's best interest. He said "there's never been this wholesale rethinking of pretrial detention."

Judges have been receptive to finding alternatives to custody, said Swanson, who now works as a private defense attorney at Swanson & McNamara. He added his firm has been prioritizing bringing requests to reconsider pretrial detention for elderly and other highly vulnerable clients.

But Swanson also characterized the issue as case-specific because defendants who have a support system and can be detained somewhere they can be reliably monitored are more likely to be granted home release.

"How do you find alternatives for people with the most compromised immune systems who really don't need to be in custody, given the nature of their alleged offense but for whom it's difficult to place?" he said.

Federal Public Defender Steven Kalar did not immediately return requests for comment.

Hixson granted Toledo's release after confirming the limited capacity of San Mateo County's Maguire jail procedures to contain the spread of the coronovirus. Assistant United States Attorney Elaine Lapunzina said she is unsure if the facility is robustly testing inmates, explaining the procedure is "consistent in the manner the situation is being handled elsewhere."

While the ex-Peruvian president is a high-profile defendant in a internationally followed criminal corruption proceeding, he is being represented by the federal public defender's office. Toledo, 74, is more susceptible to catching the coronavirus and dying from it because of his advanced age and underlying health conditions, argued defense attorney Graham Archer.

Federal prosecutors challenged his release into home custody, arguing he is a flight risk because he may have hidden assets.

Toledo will be released on a $1 million bond, half of which he must post in cash.

On Thursday, a 58-year-old inmate at Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas died from an unspecified illness, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. A Rikers Island inmate was confirmed to have the coronavirus on Wednesday, just days after an investigator working at the jail died after testing positive. The outbreak has encouraged other well-known inmates to seek home detention, including Michael Avenatti, Michael Cohen and Bernard Madoff.

Brandon Sample, Madoff's attorney, called on all elderly federal prisoners to be released, citing the system's inability to respond to major crises.