West Valley Detention Center

West Valley Detention Center

Escapes

1994, 29 September: 25 year-old Joseph Farias, sentenced to 18 years for murder, had mistakenly been placed in West Valley Detention Center. Farias traded his ID wristband with another inmate before boarding a prison bus to the Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center, another minimum security facility in Devore. At an 11:30 am count by Glen Helen staff, Farias was missing.

2000, March: Kedrin Kizzee, one of three people arrested in a Colton drug-raid that included 200 pounds of marijuana and 44 pounds of cocaine, escaped on a Friday morning in March, resulting in a lockdown at West Valley. Aided by prison guard Lya Manuela Bernard, Kizzee was given falsified documents that allowed him to pose as another inmate. He returned, however, the next day, and was later sentenced to an extra 2 years for the escape attempt.

1999, October: 27 year-old Max Richie managed to free himself of his handcuff restraints in a holding cell, then used a razor to slash the throat of fellow inmate Cedric Allan Parker, who was being held on charges of kidnapping and attempted murder. The explanation as to how Richie escaped the restraints remains a mystey; there was no key found in his cell, although guards often encounter paperclips, metal pieces, or duplicate handcuff keys that can be purchased at both military suplus outlets and e-commerce sites for under $7.

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