A big fall from the cracks in a Diversion Program that gets high marks. Jim hoffer is here with that part of our coverage. Jim . Reporter thats right. The states drug court deversion is affected. In the scrutiny of the program following the shooting death of an nypd officer we are finding out there can be problems here. We have learned that its not the kind of program for violent offenders. Now we are finding out there can be delays to treatment and daily monitoring for lack of rehab beds. Tyrone howard avoided prison by agreeing to undergo 18 months of in patient residential treatment in a drug rehab facility. But the treatment was delayed because there was no bed available. Instead, the Court Drug Program required howard to check in once a month for drug testing. The first two months he showed up. In september he didnt. He eluded authorities until resurfacing this week, the prime suspect in the killing of nypd officer randolph holder. That is unacceptable. Reporter former prosecutor
but i got to accept my consequences. michael parapar walked up to an inmate in the drc program and took all his commissary and decided to tell the guy he needed to beg for them to get them back. i thought we were a lot more cooler than we were and i thought it was all fun and games and somebody else thought it wasn t. i was aware of the incident, brought him into my office, i questioned him about the incident. at that point he admitted everything he did. i thought he was doing great. i mean, he was on his 68th day. the day before this incident i was telling my sergeant that i can t believe the growth that he s made. he was doing everything perfect. i wish i could go back to the program, but he s a guy i can t have back here. to me, what he did was that serious, unfortunately, he blew his shot. parapar s friend aaron sofield is approaching his end in the program.
and his girlfriend are housed in separate wings and can t see each other, costa says it s good to be under the same roof with her. and i miss the [ bleep ] out of her, and i feel closer to her now being in here. i know we re going through it together. i feel dead without him. it s not that i feel weak. it is not because of lack of nutrition or anything, but it is lack of thomas. costas and schlossberg hope to qualify for the new jersey court drug perhaps. it was set up to help offenders with drug charges avoid jail or prison time. but the program is rigorous and requires a commitment to drug rehabilitation and frequent testing. and the anger issues. and the jail offers its own road to sobriety for the inmates who volunteer to abide by a strict set of rules. this is our drc program. drug rehabilitation center. an in-house drug treatment center, a 90-day program for people in the bergen county jail.
have, 180 days. but sofield is eligible for early release upon successfully completing the program. what have you learned in here about addiction? the main thing i ve learned is that i can t do it by myself. my thinking has changed since i ve been in here. i totally don t think the same way i did when i first came in here. aaron has a better chance than most of the guys we have in here. we has a very supportive large family. he s bright, he s got college, he has a driver s license, a place to live, a car. that s more than many of the people who leave here have. getting better is making a decision. it doesn t just happen. it s saying, you know, i m not going to pick up a drink or a drug, i m going to get the help i need. yes, sir. all right, good luck. and we ll see you. we ll see you during the week, okay? yes, sir. thank you. thank you. today i might know i don t want to use. tomorrow s tomorrow.
token. this coin is really a token of your ability to cope. it has no intrinsic value itself, but coping and completing this program in 90 days is a very difficult task. so the ability to get through it without getting written up and kicked out is important. i wish you all the best on your journey, and i hope that you put the same effort into discovery house that you did here. okay? thank you. thanks. you feel good to see somebody come in on day one and see the change in them. if we get too good at this, i ll be put out of a job, but that s okay. i ll find something else to do. prior to his release, he must complete one more task provide an orientation to the inmate who will take his spot in the drc, aaron sofield. grab two sets of blues and we ll change you up. leave the other two in there. you have your key, right? yes, sir. i m addicted to heroin. use it every day, morning, noon