For Immediate Release
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Responds to Inmate Release Inquiry
September 22, 2026 (JOHNSON COUNTY, IA) On September 21, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office received an email from David Goodner regarding Maudin Gonzales, an inmate in the jail. The email raised a concern that Gonzales was still in custody more than 48 hours after his sentence was discharged. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office promptly reviewed the matter and discovered that the jail had not received the dispositional/release order from the Clerk of Court on September 14, 2026, when the order was issued.
After receiving the email from Escucha Mi Voz, conferring with staff, and contacting the Johnson County Attorney, we realized that Gonzales had been in custody longer than legally required and should have been released or picked up by ICE on September 16, 2026. Once this mistake was noticed, Gonzales was promptly released from custody at 5:07 p.m. yesterday afternoon.
We appreciate Escucha Mi Voz bringing this to our attention.
The Sheriff’s Office is reviewing the matter and has learned the following:
Gonzales was arrested on August 16, 2026, by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office for Operating While Intoxicated – 1st Offense and was charged with two traffic offenses. In addition to the local charges, ICE placed a detainer on Gonzales. Bond was set in the amount of $1,300 at his initial appearance. The Public Defender’s Office was appointed to represent Gonzales. Due to overcrowding at the Johnson County Jail, Gonzales was later transferred to the Washington County Jail.
On September 14, 2026, Gonzales pled guilty to the OWI charge and was sentenced to two days in jail with credit for time already served. Pursuant to ICE detainer requirements and our standard practice, ICE has 48 hours to take custody of a person when they are released on local charges and notified by jail staff. The dispositional order was file stamped September 14, 2026, at 9:22 a.m. If the jail had received notice of the discharge order, Gonzales would have been released or transferred to ICE on September 16, 2026.
On Sunday, September 20, the Washington County Jail contacted the Johnson County Jail and informed staff that Gonzales (who remained represented by an attorney) made them aware he should have been released last week. Jail staff reviewed notices of court filings from the clerk and did not locate a copy of any order. Staff reviewed Iowa Courts Online, and released Gonzales in our internal system, and notified ICE that Gonzales was ready for pickup (this notification was in error).
On Monday, September 21, at approximately 2:38 p.m., jail staff received a new court order for the release of Gonzales. The order was issued September 21, 2026, at 2:37 p.m. at the request of his attorney.
The Sheriff’s Office has been in contact with the Johnson County Clerk of Court and the Johnson County Public Defender’s Office about the matter. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office works in cooperation with defense attorneys every day. If an attorney is concerned or aware that their client is being held longer than necessary, we hope that they will follow this tradition of cooperation and bring that to our attention. We are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening in the future.
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