GRANT COUNTY — Months after the coronavirus pandemic began, law enforcement agencies are still regularly forced to let detained suspects go free due to jail restrictions imposed by state and federal officials.

The decision, made to lower the risk of the virus setting in among inmates and workers in cramped conditions found in jails and prisons, has meant that few are put behind bars unless the cases involve violent felonies or other mandatory arrest crimes, such as domestic violence offenses. Though restrictions have become slightly relaxed in recent weeks, they still often prevent officers from booking individuals suspected of criminal acts.

The situation could allow some suspects accused of non-violent felonies to commit crime after crime without immediate repercussions.

Moses Lake police recently highlighted the case of Robert Patterson, 32, who was arrested three times in the span of a little over a week in connection with a string of car thefts.

The first such incident came June 6, when Patterson was arrested while reportedly driving a stolen vehicle, but officers were unable to book him into the county jail due to the restrictions. Four days later, Patterson was allegedly seen again by police as he got into a stolen Volkswagen, before reportedly leading them on a high-speed chase. Due to the speeds at which Patterson was allegedly traveling, police ended the pursuit, according to law enforcement officials.

Patterson later allegedly ditched the stolen vehicle and walked back to the house where officers had reportedly seen him. Police were still on the scene and arrested Patterson, who denied stealing the vehicle but reportedly still had the keys of the stolen car in his pocket.

Though Patterson couldn’t be booked into the Grant County jail on charges of felony eluding and possession of a stolen vehicle, he was booked into the neighboring Adams County jail on an outstanding burglary warrant. Patterson was released from the county jail, located in Ritzville, the next day. According to Moses Lake police officials, Patterson immediately stole a car in Ritzville, drove it to Moses Lake, and ditched it.

Two days later, on June 13, Patterson was allegedly located by police driving another stolen car and was also wanted in a burglary case in Moses Lake, according to police officials.

With the most recent slate of charges, local police were able to book Patterson into the Grant County jail.

“It’s frustrating for us,” MLPD Capt. Mike Williams said in a Wednesday interview. “Obviously there’s risk involved with tracking these guys down and there’s a risk to the community, especially with this case where there were high-speed pursuits.”

While the jail is no longer only booking people linked to violent felonies or domestic violence, as it was in the early months of the pandemic, its ability to accept new inmates for lower-level offenses is highly dependent on the number of people currently incarcerated, Williams said.

“That’s just kind of the ebb and flow of law enforcement,” he said.

While Williams said it has been frustrating for officers who are doing their jobs and detaining criminal suspects but are unable to book them into jail, he was quick to note that the jail isn’t to blame for the policy.

“It’s definitely frustrating for us, but it’s something that’s outside of our control,” Williams said. “This isn’t the county’s fault; this is something that’s out of their hands.”