Jail administrator selection made

Curry County has reached a tentative agreement to bring Gerry Billy of Ohio as its next adult detention center administrator.

A request to approve an employment contract for Billy is on Tuesday’s county commission meeting agenda.

Former administrator Keith Norwood resigned in September, and Tori Sandoval has been acting as interim administrator since.

Billy is a retired six-term (24 years) sheriff of Licking County, Ohio.

County Manager Lance Pyle and County Attorney Stephen Doerr began negotiations in December with Billy as the first choice. The pay range is $68,259 to $85,324 for Billy.

Gerry will take over a facility that has been troubled. He will be the 10th administrator or interim administrator at the facility since the fall of 2005, when Don Burdine resigned after nine years on the job.

Since 2002, 14 inmates have escaped the facility, most recently Narcizo Soto Jr., who was recaptured hours after he ran out on an early morning detail job.

All of the inmates were recaptured except for Edward Salas, 27, convicted in the 2005 shooting death of 10-year-old Carlos Perez.

Salas escaped with seven other inmates in an August 2008 jailbreak that brought national attention to Clovis.