Uintah County Sheriff Steve Labrum offered some clarification on rumors about the Uintah County Jail. He shared the following: “There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the jail. We have an entire male housing unit and an entire female housing unit in the jail dedicated to holding new arrestees and people who we are not comfortable citing and releasing. This measure is in place to help prevent the possible introduction of COVID-19 into the jail’s other housing units. Some inmates have been released early from the jail, based on a court order. Judges and prosecutors have been reassessing the need to hold some lower-risk offenders – particularly those who are elderly or nearing the end of their sentences – in custody at this time. In some cases, those reassessments have led the court to order an individual’s release from jail…Most are individuals whose cases are drug or alcohol related. It’s important to remember that individuals are released from jail for a number of reasons each day, regardless of concerns about COVID-19. It’s part of the normal day-to-day operation of any jail.” To view Sheriff Labrum’s entire message, visit the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
