Judge Dismisses Jail Case; Inmates to Stay in Cambridge

After a month long dispute, the Middlesex County Sheriff's Department has full author its to use an East Cambridge jail On Thursday a judge dismissed the city's charges that the jail is a tire hazard where prisoners should not be confined.

The judge dismissed the case the day after a panel from the state Department of Public Safety issued a permit certifying the jail's compliance with appropriate building codes.

Eleven prisoners were transferred to the Jail immediately after Superior Court Judge Charles R. Albert's decision, where they spokesman for the sheriff's department, said that because of limited funding this spring they will only use one of the Jail's four floors. The jail occupies the top four floors of the Middlesex County Courthouse building.

Knopf added that the jail will open officially on July I when it receives $2 6 million for operating expenses Presently, the prison is operating with guards from nearby Billerica prison. The sheriff's department will gradually bring in more prisoners and expects-to reach the jail's 150-inmate capacity by October, Knopf said.

Members of the citizen's group that has led opposition to the jail said yesterday they have not given up and are still hoping to keep the jail unoccupied. Frank Buttrick-president of the East Cambridge Citizen's Planning Team, said their plans are uncertain but that they definitely want the city to appeal Albert's decision.

However, Cambridge City Solicitor Russell B. Higley said yesterday the city does not plan an appeal of the decision because he does not see a strong legal basis for one. "With the Prop 2 1 2 cutbacks, we don't want to appeal without a good chance of winning," he added.

Contending that the jail is a danger to public safety. Cambridge residents and officials have been batting for two years to keep long-term prisoners out of the jail Middlesex County Sheriff's Department officials last month began housing overnight prisoners there for the first time since the jail's completion in 1974 after nearby jails became over crowded.

Cambridge resident Peter A. Vellucci said yesterday he fears state officials will begin bringing in more dangerous convicts, rather than allowing county officials to house only county prisoners, who have been convicted of less severe crimes, in the jail. But a spokesman for the state corrections commission said yesterday there are no plans to move state prisoners to the Cambridge facility.