Bishop - Like a good neighbor, ICJ is there

An early winter storm washed away Mono County’s hopes of a speedy reroofing project at the jail in Bridgeport, forcing law enforcement officials to find a new home for more than 20 inmates.
Inyo County is being a good neighbor by housing the inmates, free of charge, until Mono County can repair its jail.
“We have a mutual aid compact, so whenever an agency requests mutual aid, it’s like a favor,” and the agency is not charged for utilizing outside resources, Inyo County Sheriff Bill Lutze said. “If it was to carry on for months or something, it might be a different story” and Inyo could request compensation from Mono, but that is not the case.
There are currently 23 Mono County inmates being housed at Inyo County Jail, which has a maximum occupancy of 99 prisoners. Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Carma Roper said the jail is at 90 percent occupancy with the neighboring prisoners being housed, and Inyo has agreed to take any future bookings from the Mammoth Lakes Police Department and Mono County Sheriff’s Department.
It is unclear how long it will take Mono County to repair its facilities, but Roper said she estimates it will be at least 2-3 weeks before Mono County’s prisoners are removed from Inyo’s facilities.
“It is difficult to say how long we will be housing these inmates,” Lutze said. “ Mono County is working on roof repairs; the length of these repairs are yet to be determined.”
With the jail nearing maximum capacity, there are concerns that Inyo County will be forced to commute sentences or transport prisoners to a jail in Southern California.
“This time of year, I don’t think that would happen,” Lutze said.
If the jail does exceed maximum capacity, Lutze said prisoners probably would not see commuted sentences, and would probably be sent to San Bernardino County Jail.

Inyo County Sheriff Bill Lutze and Mono County Sheriff Richard Scholl, under a cooperative agreement, have decided to house Mono County inmates at Inyo County jail (above) while Mono’s facility is being repaired after a flood this week. File photos

Mono County began a re-roofing project the week of Oct. 2 at the Jail and Administration Facility in Bridgeport. With the initial work complete, including removal of the old roof, attempts were made to cover the exposed roof and to minimize the possibility of water or snow from compromising the interior of the facility.
Those efforts proved futile, however, and on the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 13, the large early-season storm moved into the area, bringing snow, heavy rain and high winds.
The first signs of water entering the jail and administration facility were noticed at approximately 10:30 a.m.
“It became obvious that the attempted procedures to minimize the water from entering the interior of the facility were not working,” a press release from the Mono County Sheriff’s Department states.
By late morning the decision was made to evacuate all inmates to another jail facility for their safety and well-being.
Due to the evacuation, Mono County Superior Court Judge Stan Eller decided that a small number of inmates with minor offenses or sentences would either be released on their own recognizance or be re-sentenced to serve their time at a later date.
The inmates that remain in custody were relocated shortly after noon to the Bridgeport Memorial Hall, which was used as a temporary housing location before Lutze agreed to take in the prisoners.
Several Mono County sheriff’s units, along with numerous California Highway Patrol units, transported the inmates to Independence at about 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Throughout the incident, Mono County Public Works employees, along with Sheriff’s Department staffers, worked to minimize further interior damage to the facility. Two outside companies were called in to assist with the clean-up, and worked late into the evening.
Mono County also had Information and Technology employees working throughout the day and evening to maintain the integrity of various computer systems that are necessary for the Sheriff’s Department to conduct business, such as the 911 system.
All proceedings for inmates, both in custody and those who were released in the wake of the disaster, will be conducted in Mono County Superior Courts as scheduled. At this time all relatives of inmates should contact the Inyo County Jail at (760) 878-0370 for visitation information.