A.D. Ibarra

-Eagle Pass

A juvenile who had only recently arrived to the new Border Hope Juvenile Residential Center at the Radar Base made an attempt to escape using a metal bar to get past the officer in charge of supervising the boys who are housed there.

According to Bruce Ballou, Director of Probation for the Tri-County area, the youth who is not from Eagle Pass used the metal object to attack the officer, striking him at least three times, twice to the top of the head and once to the side of his head, causing significant injury, however the officer still tried to subdue the individual and the two struggled for a while, but the youth was able to escape into the cold Saturday night as the incident occurred at approximately 9:30 P.M.

The youth was on the run all night, but was apprehended on Highway 277 the next morning with the aid of US Border Patrol and Texas Department of Public Safety officers.

The unidentified youth has been charged with Aggravated Assault on a Correctional Officer and taken to a more traditional detention center where he awaits his date before the district judge.

Ballou added that he has already spoken with District Judge Cynthia Muñiz and County Judge Saucedo in regards to the incident.  What is next is a report to District Judge Abascal and one to the Juvenile Board which is standard procedure in an incident of this nature.

When asked which precautions had been taken in retrospect of this highly volatile situation, Ballou mentioned the fact that the entire facility has been cleared of any objects which can be used as a weapon and strict guidelines as to how the youths move around the facility have also been implemented.

What may come of this is that two officers may have to be stationed at the facility as opposed to the one officer to eight residents ratio which by law is the official ratio which was adhered to in this instance.

The Border Hope facility is not a jail, it is a facility which is the last alternative before these youths are actually sent to a juvenile detention center, and/or prison for violation of probation guidelines set forth by their P.O.'s and District Court.  

In this setting, the youths are guided by licensed substance abuse counselors and YSO's (Youth Supervision Officers) who are there to help rehabilitate these wayward youths, giving the hope for their futures away from the perils of organized crime and the drug trade.