Latest news with #StudentNest
CBS News
21 hours ago
- 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."
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Nonprofit employee suspected of smuggling drugs into L.A. juvenile hall
An employee working for a nonprofit organization was arrested with dozens of pills in his possession at a Downey juvenile hall on Monday, months after several youths overdosed at the facility. Alejandro Lopez was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and drug possession after he was found holding roughly 170 'white pills' inside Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall around 11:30 a.m., according to a news release from the L.A. County Probation Department, which oversees the halls. The department said officers noticed Lopez was 'engaged in some suspicious activity' and approached him shortly before finding the pills. They are believed to be Xanax, but lab tests must be conducted to confirm that, according to Vicky Waters, a Probation Department spokeswoman. '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,' county Chief Probation Officer Guillermo Viera Rosa said in a statement. 'We are grateful for the swift action of our investigative team and our law enforcement partners. We remain committed to ensuring a secure environment for youth, staff, and our community partners.' Probation officials said Lopez works for Student Nest, which, according to its website, is a Fresno-based tutoring service that provides programs focused on math, science, English and robotics. Attempts to contact the company were not immediately successful Monday night. It was not immediately clear whether Lopez had legal representation. Drugs in the county's juvenile halls have been a major concern since the May 2023 overdose death of 18-year-old Bryan Diaz at the Secure Youth Treatment Facility in Sylmar. This year, three youths were hospitalized after suffering drug overdoses in Los Padrinos, just days after probation officials found a large quantity of Xanax inside the hall. A probation officer was charged with helping smuggle Xanax into Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar in June.
