Over a dozen inmates attempt to escape from LA County Juvenile Hall facility: source
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - Over a dozen inmates have been accounted for after they allegedly attempted to escape from a Los Angeles County juvenile facility late Friday night, officials said.
UPDATE: Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall: Security stepped up following ‘major disturbance’ at facility
The Downey Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department responded to a call from the Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey.
A source told FOX 11 that a group of inmates tried to leave the juvenile facility – with some of the juveniles trying to scale the facility's walls.
A juvenile inmate at the Downey facility briefly escaped during a brawl with detention staff members that prompted a large police response, but was back at the facility in short order.
The youth "was immediately apprehended by officers from the Probation Department's Special Enforcement Operations unit. Since he is 18 years old, the Department has asked the LA County Sheriff's Department to book him as an adult," county officials said Saturday.
The remaining 12 youths have been placed in individual rooms at Los Padrinos under one-on-one supervision. No serious injuries to youth or staff were reported during the incident, and a subsequent headcount found all 273 youth at the facility present and accounted for, according to the Los Angeles County Probation Department, which runs the facility.
"I want to thank the law enforcement officers who responded and got this situation under control quickly. It is my understanding that all the youth have been accounted for," LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a released statement.
"We need to understand exactly what happened last night at Los Padrinos. I expect our interim Chief Probation Officer to get to the bottom of what went wrong and make assurances to the Board of Supervisors and the City of Downey that this is not going to happen again," she added.
Officials noted they ask the County to speed up hiring of Safety and Security specialists, a new job classification that will allow the Probation Department to hire off-duty or retired peace officers for external
security purposes.
The investigation is ongoing.
City News Service contributed to this report.