OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Once again how we deal with mental illness takes center stage in our court system.
Douglas County prosecutors believe we’re seeing more cases where mental illness becomes one of the primary issues when they make charges in a case. Prosecutors remind us their primary focus is to protect the public.
Zachary Vinton, 34, appeared in the Douglas County courthouse. Prosecutors wanted the judge to review his $20,000 bond.
On April 16, law enforcement were called to a park near 196th and Y streets. Douglas County sheriff officials report Vinton chased two young girls in the park and tried to grab one of the girls’ hair.
Zachary Vinton(Douglas County Corrections)
When questioned by sheriff deputies, Vinton denied running after the girls. He eventually admitted he was chasing the girls because he wanted to have sex with them.
Defendant has cognitive disabilities
Vinton is charged with two counts of child abuse. Vinton has a history of mental illness and the cognitive abilities of a 10-year-old.
His attorney argued, “We are not in the business of putting disabled people in jail if there is in fact alternative ways to monitor his activity.”
But prosecutors argue an increase in bond would provide incentive for everyone to do their best to ensure all the conditions of his release are followed.
“If somebody has a mental health issue we need to figure out where that person belongs in the system,” said Don Kleine, Douglas County Attorney. “But there’s also again the very important aspect of protecting the public because when that person hurts somebody it’s no different than somebody else doing it.”
Strict conditions imposed
The judge laid down very strict conditions for Vinton’s continued release including 24-hour supervision by an adult, GPS monitoring, giving the Douglas County Sheriff access to monitoring information and compliance with all medical treatment.
“The restrictions are good and they’re necessary but for us we want it to be fail safe with regards to what happened here and make sure nothing happens to anybody else,” Kleine said.
So far Vinton has followed all of the judge’s orders. Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine says his job is to protect the public.
“Certainly we understand that sometimes people have mental health issues but we need to protect the public no matter what the situation is and there’s got to be a way to do both, treat somebody and make sure the people are protected from that person if they have a propensity to do things that are against the law,” Kleine said.
The judge called Vinton’s case unique and kept the current bond in place. Vinton will stay with his caretakers and out of jail for now.
The judge in the case ruled bond will stay as is for now. If any of the conditions are not met, Vinton would be rearrested and face a new hearing before the judge. Vinton has a preliminary hearing set for later this month.
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