CINCINNATI -- Dustin Wade posted bond 22 days ago. He's still in jail.
Like at least a dozen other inmates, he's waiting for an electronic monitor to become available.
Wade is charged with domestic violence. According to Hamilton County court records, he hit and scratched Haley Carlisle, mother to his 10-month-old daughter.
Last month, a judge required Wade to wear a tracking device after his release, but the county ran out of the units. Carlisle wants him to be freed, she said, so he can be with their daughter and get help for his bipolar disorder.
"It's rough having someone you love in a corrupt justice system," Carlisle said. "I don't think it's right."
Another inmate, Rozell Martin, sued Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil and the Hamilton County Commission Friday because, like Waide, he wasn't released after making bond. The sheriff's office told Martin's mother that he was 13th on the waiting list, according to his lawsuit.
Authorities have refused to say how many inmates are still in the jail because the county ran out of monitoring units, so the 9 On Your Side I-Team examined online records to find out, checking the status of hundreds of defendants being held in the Hamilton County Justice Center.
Bernie Bouchard, the presiding judge of Hamilton County Municipal Court, said about 300 defendants are monitored with the tracking units. The units allow defendants to remain in the community, have better access to services and hopefully receive more support, Bouchard said -- all at a much lower cost to taxpayers than time in the over-crowded jail.
"We're doing the best we can with what we have," he said. "That's all we can do."
Carlisle asked Bouchard herself to release Wade on Tuesday, but Bouchard denied the defense attorney's motion to release him without a tracking unit or additional bond. Instead, he eliminated the tracking unit requirement and more than doubled Wade's bond.
So Wade remains in jail for now.
Carlisle said Bouchard "doesn't know us personally, he doesn't know our personal situation.
"He's just trying to make sure everybody's safe, and I understand that. But he (Wade) made bail three weeks ago, and he could be getting the help he needs."
Sheriff Jim Neil and County Commissioners Denise Driehaus, Todd Portune and Chris Monzel did not respond to requests for comment. They typically do not comment on lawsuits filed against them.
