7/2/09
Incoming Rio Arriba County Jail Administrator Larry DeYapp Jr. will oversee a staff of 30 that includes his own mother.
DeYapp Jr. has worked at the jail since 2001 and his mother, Esther, has been a guard since 1998, according to County documents.
“The facility’s in good shape but I want to intensify efforts to identify how contraband is getting in and put an end to drugs and other contraband getting in,” DeYapp Jr. said Tuesday.
DeYapp Jr. refused to detail the new measures he would undertake to stem the flow of drugs into the jail.
“My clientele reads the SUN,” DeYapp Jr. said of inmates. “I don’t want to show them how we’ll do it.”
DeYapp Jr. said he will be objective with his entire staff and his mother can expect no preferential treatment.
“Supervision of my mother will come from Assistant Jail Administrator Dennis Herrera,” DeYapp Jr. said. “If anything comes up with my mom, I’ll defer to him. I won’t micromanage him.”
Esther DeYapp could not be reached for comment. Public records requests for Esther DeYapp’s and Larry DeYapp Jr.’s personnel records have not yet been fulfilled by the County.
Supervising his mother is not the only potential conflict of interest DeYapp will have to navigate as jail administrator. DeYapp’s cousin, Village of Chama Councilor Darren DeYapp, is director of La Clinica del Pueblo de Rio Arriba in Tierra Amarilla. La Clinica provides emergency medical care for inmates.
DeYapp said allegations that his father, Larry DeYapp Sr., molested a young girl do not present any potential conflicts of interest for him because his father would be sent to a state prison rather than the County jail if he is found guilty.
DeYapp Sr. was indicted in January 2008 on charges of first degree criminal sexual penetration of a child, witness intimidation, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and enticement of a child.
DeYapp Sr. is currently free on $100,000 bond with court-ordered electronic monitoring. Jury selection for DeYapp Sr.’s trial is scheduled for July 20.
DeYapp Sr. faces up to 36 years in prison if convicted on all counts, according to state sentencing guidelines.
“He’s my dad and in my heart,” DeYapp Jr. said. “I don’t believe he did it. If he did, the man needs to do time. Justice needs to be served. It affects me because he’s my dad. But I can’t let it affect me at work.”
Outgoing jail administrator Bidal Candelaria said the County will get its money’s worth by hiring DeYapp Jr. as the new jail administrator.
“Larry will do just fine,” Candelaria said. “He and Dennis (Herrera) play to each other’s strengths. They complement each other and will make a good team. Either one of them would’ve made a good administrator.”
Herrera was one of five applicants for the position.
Herrera has worked at the jail since 1991 — 10 years longer than DeYapp Jr. — and he served as a Military Police officer with the U.S. Marine Corps between 1973 and 1977, according to his resume and County documents.
But in advertising the administrator position, the County listed as a requirement a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice or a related field and five years of experience in a detention or correctional facility.
Assistant County Manager Tomas Campos and Human Resources Director Jessica Madrid both said that was a mistake and that the requirements should have read a bachelor’s degree “or” (rather than “and”) five years of corrections experience.
None of the five applicants for the job met the advertised requirements. DeYapp Jr. has a four-year college degree, but his degree was in business administration, not criminal justice.
There are no plans to re-advertise the position, even though some potential applicants found the advertisement confusing, Madrid said.
“There were people who came in asking for clarification on the criteria,” Madrid said. “I don’t recall whether any of the people who wound up applying, asked about that. Those that called and were interested, I discussed the criteria with them.”
Madrid would not speculate about whether other qualified individuals would have applied for the job had the position’s requirements been correctly advertised.
The County has received no complaints from people who would have applied, Madrid said.
DeYapp Jr. earned his degree from the Colorado Technical Institute, in Colorado Springs, Colo., after graduating from Escalante High School in 1991, according to his resume. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1992 to 1996, according to his resume.
DeYapp Jr. will oversee a staff of 30 guards and administrative employees. The jail currently houses 90 inmates, he said. He will be paid an annual salary of $68,585.
Candelaria retired Tuesday after 27 years at the jail.