<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=21YAYN_0w9jogfW00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=21YAYN_0w9jogfW00" width="1320" height="743" >ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The fallout from a violent crime spree across three western counties highlights gaps in Buncombe County's Pretrial Services.News 13 uncovered new details about why Ryan Ricky Houston should have been pulled back into court to face violations with his electronic monitoring before the rampage that left three people dead including Houston.News 13 found two Pretrial Service employees have resigned in the wake of Ryan Ricky Houston’s Path of Chaos and it has prompted a change in Buncombe County Policy.<div style="position:relative;width:100%; height:0; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f_Iy1Bg-jWM?enablejsapi=1&version=3&playerapiid=ytplayer" frameborder="0" style="width:100%; height:100%;top:0; left:0; position:absolute"></iframe></div>911 CALLS SHED NEW LIGHT ON HOUSTON CASE"Hey, I just witnessed a car hit the median on the highway going I-40 East," said a driver who dialed 911 in McDowell County on August 1, 2024.At about the same time, an ambulance traveling I-40 radioed the McDowell County 911 Center."Go ahead and start me, I-40 EB at the 75, just before the 75. Rolled up on a 1050, just rolled up on it. I got a female subject, the male subject just took off on foot," said the EMS workers.Both calls are from the night Ryan Ricky Houston fled the crash scene.<img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3ouBPd_0w9jogfW00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3ouBPd_0w9jogfW00" width="648" height="365" >Medics found Melanie Crisp stabbed in Houston’s passenger seat. Houston had ditched the phone tied to his electronic monitoring and authorities said he broke into a home nearby."Someone's breaking into my house, beating my husband — he's sitting here bleeding,” said Sherry Barrier, the home's owner.A second fatal crash, a day later, killed Houston and former Marshall Police Chief Mike Boone, who just happened to be traveling home after work. Houston, in a stolen vehicle, struck Boone’s vehicle head-on.RESIGNATIONS AND GAPS IN PRETRIAL SERVICESA week before, on July 22, records now show the SIM card was removed from Houston’s electronic monitor. It was immediately replaced according to a Pretrial Service report, however, that incident was never reported to the courts.<img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3wfDRn_0w9jogfW00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3wfDRn_0w9jogfW00" width="648" height="365" >Houston's Pretrial Release Coordinator Nelly Vargas resigned amid a SBI probe. News 13 recently uncovered Vargas' pretrial supervisor, Renee Ray, also quit citing personal issues, calling the Houston situation the "final straw," in her resignation letter.According to a 2023 UNC School of Government statewide survey, Buncombe is the only district in the western counties offering Pretrial Services."The lack of pretrial services does not mean the person is not going to get released, because under state law that analysis has to be done for every single defendant who is brought into jail," said District Attorney Ted Bell, Prosecutorial District 41 McDowell &amp; Rutherford Counties.Without Pretrial Services the analysis falls to judges and their clerks. Houston's case prompted an internal review, something WCU Political Science Department head Dr. Todd Collins said any county in Buncombe County’s situation might do."I think when we do have bad outcomes and tragedies that may give us a chance to look at those guardrails that we have and make sure that they are working," said Collins.In Buncombe County several guardrails may have been bypassed. While Pretrial Release Coordinators are not enforcers, they are required to report violations to the court. Those violations include no contact with pretrial services, violating rules of electronic monitoring, charges of new criminal activity, and additional conditions violated.In August of 2023, when the Buncombe District Attorney's office filed a motion to revoke Houston's bond, Supervisor Renee Ray on behalf of Nelly Vargas reported 11 violations to the judge. A violation report was also prepared following Houston's wreck, the home invasion and Crisp's stabbing. Because of a submission error, the court didn't get it until after Houston's death.ISSUES REVEALEDThere were several issues among the 244 alerts the county received that should have been reported and were not. The first was the SIM card removal.The second was two pretrial violations in December and January when deputies were called out to locate Houston after he failed to answer calls following monitoring in restricted areas.And 20 low battery alerts were similar to issues raised in court in August of 2023.District attorney Ted Bell said, when issues are reported, judges can take action."And at that point, we can ask the judge to revoke their bond. When the judge revokes their bond though because the statute requires that they have to have a bond setting, the judge then has to turn around and immediately set another bond. It's going to be higher than the one they revoked but most of the time they can’t be held with no bond," said Bell.Except in limited cases like murder. So, who is accountable? It appears Pretrial Coordinators are based on actions taken by Buncombe County. While Buncombe County ended its internal review with the resignations of two staff it has implemented a change in procedures.Now when pretrial coordinators receive a monitoring alert, they can't clear it alone. A supervisor must also review the alert or potential violation. Each district sets its own pretrial policies and despite the issues with Houston, there can be benefits."There's a lot of good that can come out of it because people can keep their jobs or go take care of their families," said Dr. Collins.When safeguards aren't observed, there could be risks to public safety."We're talking about humans and humans are unpredictable, so we can have the best possible guardrails in place, and something bad can happen," said Dr. Collins.Buncombe County's District Attorney Todd Williams requested the SBI review Pretrial Services. The SBI told News 13 that the investigation is ongoing.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Buncombe County revises policies after deadly crime rampage exposes system flaws

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The fallout from a violent crime spree across three western counties highlights gaps in Buncombe County's Pretrial Services. News 13 uncovered new details about why Ryan Ricky Houston should have been pulled back into court to face violations with his electronic monitoring before the rampage that left three people dead including Houston.