AUSTIN, Texas — Repeatedly targeting a business – and a cycle in and out of jail for the alleged perpetrator.
The cases play out over and over again in Downtown Austin. Advocates say such instances underscore that enough is not being done quickly enough to help people with mental illnesses who commit petty crimes.
Craig Staley sits at one of his seven downtown Royal Blue grocery stores, watching video from a crime that occurred early on July 1. A man shattered a window and, in under a minute, grabbed a handful of cigarette cartons and bolted.
Four days later, he was back – smashing through another window and filling a bag with cigarettes before climbing out the window.
“He was in the store for about 30 seconds, and we will spend hours on this particular break-in,” Staley said.
Police later charged the alleged offender with burglary.
In the 16 weeks leading up to that arrest, Staley’s staff had made 15 reports to Austin police about the man.
“I can’t even tell you," Staley said. "I’ve considered throwing in the towel and finding a job somewhere and just getting out of this business altogether."
Police had arrested Tyroane Telemacque on a trespassing charge the month prior for being on Royal Blue’s property. A judge sentenced him to 20 days in jail, and then he was back on the street.
Telemacque's past crimes include trespassing and theft and a cycle in and out of jail over seven years. As his attorney put it in an email, “Each time, he serves a few weeks in jail and is released, leaving no better than when he was arrested.”
She said such crimes are often committed by people who are poor, unhoused and mentally ill, and that “Tyroane fits into all of those categories.”
Staley said he often turns to the only resource available – the police.
“A lot of times, it is our only solution to get someone out of our store and prevent them from coming back the next night,” Staley said. “We are kind of using the only tool that we have available.”
Mental health advocates say the man fits into a large population in Austin thrown too often – and ineffectively – into the justice system.
Sonja Burns, a volunteer with multiple mental health groups, said the city and county have few options for people who can’t live effectively on their own – but who aren’t ill enough to be hospitalized.
“We are far from having what we need,” Burns said. “We often hear that phrase, ‘The right care at the right place at the right time,' and that is not possible. We don’t have those options.”
Officials have started efforts to fill that gap.
Travis County officials approved opening a behavioral and mental health diversion center – an option for people to receive behavioral and mental care instead of going to jail. The county is working to set up such facilities at the former Ronald McDonald House at 15th and Trinity streets and possibly on the campus of the Austin State Hospital.
A pilot program is set to start in coming months, but it will be years before the program is fully operating.
“We have so many people who just cycle, cycle, cycle because when we get to that level of acuity, we don’t have that option. And some people need a secure option, some people need the structure and support of a more intentional community,” Burns said.
Staley said he hopes more can be done faster.
“We don’t have a community working together,” Burns said. “We need the city, APD, our county and district attorney, the county itself, working together on this.”
In the meantime, his frustration rises.
“It’s impossible to run a business like this,” Staley said.
County Attorney Delia Garza provided the following statement:
"This individual … has spent hundreds of days in jail. We agree that the criminal justice system is not equipped to solve these challenges and cycling individuals experiencing homelessness, health, and other issues, in and out of jail is not working.”
Garza added that she is committed to encouraging state and local officials to properly fund services to help with these community challenges.