There are reports of inmates at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic apparently infecting themselves on purpose with COVID-19 in an attempt to get early releases, the Los Angeles County’s sheriff said on Monday.
What We Know:
- About two dozen inmates living in one module at the jail gathered in a common area and passed around a cup of hot water and a used face mask between each other in mid-April, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.
- It’s unclear at this point whether one of the men actually had the virus, or if the inmates were simply banking on the chance someone had it and would properly infect the others, the sheriff advised. The inmates have yet to speak to deputies in regards to their actions and alleged scheme, but the sheriff suspected a plot to win early releases.
- “There was a mistaken belief that this was a way to force our hand, and somehow release more inmates,” Villanueva said, showing a surveillance video during a Monday virtual press conference of the group of blue-jumpsuit-clad inmates standing together and passing the objects among themselves.
- According to KTLA5, at least 21 inmates in the module, out of about 50, later tested positive for coronavirus.
- After an outbreak at the facility, deputies tried to figure out how that occurred and found the incident on the video. An investigation is underway, the sheriff said, and if a nurse or deputy gets sick because of the inmates’ actions, charges could be filed against the suspects.
Over the last three months, the Sheriff’s Department has released thousands of inmates to try and reduce the possibility of a widespread and destructive outbreak of coronavirus in the country’s largest jail system. L.A. County’s jail population is now below 12,000, nearly 5,000 fewer than before the pandemic.
