Latest news with #LosPadrinos
CBS News
03-07-2025
- CBS News
7 people hospitalized after possible overdose at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall
Parademics took six staff members and one youth to local hospitals after a suspected overdose and possible drug exposure at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. The Los Angeles County Probation Department said staff immediately administered Narcan to the individuals after finding them at roughly 8 a.m. Wednesday morning. Officials said they are all in stable condition, with the youth and some staff members expected to be released later on Wednesday. The incident forced staff to place the facility on lockdown. On Tuesday, LA County Probation officials said they arrested a nonprofit worker for allegedly smuggling drugs into Los Padrinos. Investigators found more than 170 white pills on him, according to LA County Probation. Embroiled in controversy for years, a state inspector deemed Los Padrinos "unsuitable" in December 2024 after staff could not stem the flow of drugs, failed to bring the juvenile prisoners to medical appointments and did not prevent retaliation against inmates who filed grievances. At the time, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said LA County "utterly failed" to provide safety to the juvenile hall prisoners. Months later, he announced charges against 30 correction officers for allegedly enabling "gladiator fights" at the facility. According to Bonta's Office, the charged officers allowed and sometimes encouraged 69 fights at Los Padrinos between July 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023. State prosecutors said 143 kids between the ages of 12 and 18 were beaten during those six months. More youth added to Los Padrinos despite depopulation plan The systemic problems forced California to close Los Padrinos, with a judge approving a plan to depopulate the facility in May. LA County Probation said it planned to move more than 100 youth detainees out of the facility. The population at the facility has slightly increased since officials announced the plan, according to figures on the LA County Probation website. On May 14, Los Padrinos housed 267 youth: 239 boys and 28 girls. As of July 1, the facility houses 276 youth, according to LA County Probation's website. However, officials included a breakdown of youth detainees underneath its current population figures. In the breakdown, LA County Probation officials stated that Los Padrinos houses 253 males and 25 females, totaling 278. After receiving the judge's approval for the depopulation plan, LA County Probation noted that the facility will not be entirely depopulated or closed, and the more than 100 detainees will be transferred to another facility.
CBS News
01-07-2025
- CBS News
Nonprofit worker arrested after allegedly smuggling drugs into Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall
Police arrested a nonprofit worker on Monday after he allegedly smuggled drugs into Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. The Los Angeles County Probation Department said investigators arrested Alejandro Lopez inside the facility after staffers noticed him engaged in suspicious activity. Investigators found more than 170 white pills on him, according to LA County Probation. Lopez worked for the nonprofit tutoring company StudentNest, probation officials said. "This type of behavior is unacceptable and represents a clear threat to the safety and well-being of the youth and staff in our institutions," Chief Probation Officer Guillermo Viera Rosa said. Police booked Lopez with possession of a controlled substance and child endangerment. "To say I'm horrified and disappointed is an understatement," said LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn. "We have an incredible duty and opportunity with the young people in our custody at Los Padrinos, to care for them and provide the environment they need to thrive." In May, LA County Probation officials announced plans to depopulate Los Padrinos following years of controversy. Last year, a state inspector deemed Los Padrinos "unsuitable" after staff could not stem the flow of drugs, failed to bring the juvenile prisoners to medical appointments and did not prevent retaliation against inmates who filed grievances. At the time, Attorney General Rob Bonta said LA County "utterly failed" to provide safety to the juvenile hall prisoners last year. Months later, he announced charges against 30 correction officers for allegedly enabling "gladiator fights" at the facility. According to Bonta's Office, the charged officers allowed and sometimes encouraged 69 fights at Los Padrinos between July 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023. State prosecutors said 143 kids between the ages of 12 and 18 were beaten during those six months. "If someone hired to provide services to our incarcerated youth is able to allegedly smuggle hundreds of illicit pills into this facility and endanger their health and chance at rehabilitation, we are failing miserably," Hahn said. "We need answers about how this was allowed to happen. Yet again, it's clear that something in the culture at Los Padrinos is not working."
The Independent
03-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
Los Angeles County will pay $2.7M to teen boy attacked in ‘gladiator fights' at detention facility
Los Angeles County on Monday agreed to pay $2.7 million to a teenager who was attacked by at least six other young people at a juvenile detention center in so-called 'gladiator fights' that were allegedly facilitated by probation officers. The boy's beating in 2023 at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall was captured on surveillance video that also showed several officials standing idly by and some of them shaking hands with the participants in the beating. A state grand jury in March charged 30 correctional officers for their role in allowing and sometimes encouraging nearly 70 fights to take place between July and December 2023. The officers face charges including child endangerment and abuse, conspiracy, and battery. More than 140 victims between the ages of 12 and 18 were involved, according to authorities. Attorney General Rob Bonta said after the charges were announced that it seemed the attacks were planned. 'They often wanted them to happen at the beginning of the day, in a certain time, in a certain place. A space and a time was created for the fights, and the plan was for the fights to happen,' he said. The investigation began after the Los Angeles Times first obtained and published video footage that shows a then-16-year-old being attacked by at least six other young people, who came at him one by one as officers stand by watching. The video was first made public during a court hearing during which a public defender for the boy, now 17, argued to a judge that he was not safe at Los Padrinos and should be released ahead of his trial. His attorney, Jamal Tooson, said the settlement was a 'first step' in recognizing the 'egregious' conduct of the LA County Probation Department. 'Our priority needs to be not just protecting my client but all children in similar circumstances under the care and watch of the probation department,' Tooson said. 'There were lawsuits prior to this. I personally represent several individuals who've been harmed at the same facility after this.' According to a correction action plan written by the department, staff failed to review CCTV footage of the facility, delayed taking the teen to the hospital, and waited too long to notify his parents. To address these issues, the department will ensure CCTV monitors are 'staffed routinely' and conduct random footage audits, and develop a protocol for making sure young people in custody are given medical care and their parents are informed appropriately. A judge ruled in April that the LA County Probation Department could not continue housing juveniles at Los Padrinos and approved a plan in May to move more than 100 youths out of the facility. California 's state board overseeing local correctional facilities has previously ordered Los Padrinos to be shut down. Tooson believes there is a pervasive 'culture problem' extending throughout the probation department's facilities that cannot be addressed by the correction action plan. He has filed at least 19 lawsuits in federal court alleging issues from physical violence allowed by officials to sexual assault by staff members in LA County's youth detention centers, he said. 'Until we actively start changing the mindset and behavior of those who are put into a caretaking responsibility of these youth, I think we're going to find ourselves in the same situation,' he said.
Washington Post
03-06-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Los Angeles County will pay $2.7M to teen boy attacked in ‘gladiator fights' at detention facility
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County on Monday agreed to pay $2.7 million to a teenager who was attacked by at least six other young people at a juvenile detention center in so-called 'gladiator fights' that were allegedly facilitated by probation officers . The boy's beating in 2023 at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall was captured on surveillance video that also showed several officials standing idly by and some of them shaking hands with the participants in the beating.
Associated Press
03-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Los Angeles County will pay $2.7M to teen boy attacked in ‘gladiator fights' at detention facility
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County on Monday agreed to pay $2.7 million to a teenager who was attacked by at least six other young people at a juvenile detention center in so-called 'gladiator fights' that were allegedly facilitated by probation officers. The boy's beating in 2023 at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall was captured on surveillance video that also showed several officials standing idly by and some of them shaking hands with the participants in the beating. A state grand jury in March charged 30 correctional officers for their role in allowing and sometimes encouraging nearly 70 fights to take place between July and December 2023. The officers face charges including child endangerment and abuse, conspiracy, and battery. More than 140 victims between the ages of 12 and 18 were involved, according to authorities. Attorney General Rob Bonta said after the charges were announced that it seemed the attacks were planned. 'They often wanted them to happen at the beginning of the day, in a certain time, in a certain place. A space and a time was created for the fights, and the plan was for the fights to happen,' he said. The investigation began after the Los Angeles Times first obtained and published video footage that shows a then-16-year-old being attacked by at least six other young people, who came at him one by one as officers stand by watching. The video was first made public during a court hearing during which a public defender for the boy, now 17, argued to a judge that he was not safe at Los Padrinos and should be released ahead of his trial. His attorney, Jamal Tooson, said the settlement was a 'first step' in recognizing the 'egregious' conduct of the LA County Probation Department. 'Our priority needs to be not just protecting my client but all children in similar circumstances under the care and watch of the probation department,' Tooson said. 'There were lawsuits prior to this. I personally represent several individuals who've been harmed at the same facility after this.' According to a correction action plan written by the department, staff failed to review CCTV footage of the facility, delayed taking the teen to the hospital, and waited too long to notify his parents. To address these issues, the department will ensure CCTV monitors are 'staffed routinely' and conduct random footage audits, and develop a protocol for making sure young people in custody are given medical care and their parents are informed appropriately. A judge ruled in April that the LA County Probation Department could not continue housing juveniles at Los Padrinos and approved a plan in May to move more than 100 youths out of the facility. California's state board overseeing local correctional facilities has previously ordered Los Padrinos to be shut down. Tooson believes there is a pervasive 'culture problem' extending throughout the probation department's facilities that cannot be addressed by the correction action plan. He has filed at least 19 lawsuits in federal court alleging issues from physical violence allowed by officials to sexual assault by staff members in LA County's youth detention centers, he said. 'Until we actively start changing the mindset and behavior of those who are put into a caretaking responsibility of these youth, I think we're going to find ourselves in the same situation,' he said.
