SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar formally announced the hiring of another jail chief Thursday morning.
Jaime Rios, the former administrator of the Maverick County Jail, was named to the administrative position.
A spokesman for BCSO sent KSAT the following statement about Rios' role:
“Deputy Chief Jaime Rios was appointed by Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar as an addition to Bexar County Sheriff’s Office Command Staff and will serve as Deputy Chief in Detention Administration, alongside Jail Administrator Deputy Chief Avery Walker and Deputy Chief Joel Janssen. Deputy Chief Rios is a licensed jail administrator and is a 33 year veteran of law enforcement, with 20 years working in federal law enforcement, to include serving two tours in Iraq. Most recently, Chief Jaime Rios successfully served as the Jail Administrator for the Maverick County Sheriff’s Office for over 4 years.
Tom Schmerber, sheriff of Maverick County, where Rios served as jail administrator until recently, told KSAT Rios did a wonderful job running the 250-inmate facility.
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Bexar County detention staff and staff from other county departments based at the jail have been blamed for at least 15 mistaken inmate releases since the start of the year.
The jail also remains out of state compliance, according to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
Last month, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff was critical of Salazar's decision to not bring in an outside hire to run the jail, saying that "drastic changes" needed to be made inside the facility.
Salazar said he already had a jail administrator in Walker and still had faith in him, during a press conference hours later.
READ MORE: 'This is the worst it's ever been': Frustration grows among Bexar County Jail deputies