Mineral County Jail discovers security breach

SUPERIOR – The Mineral County Sheriff’s Office recently discovered a security breach at the Mineral County Jail as an inmate drilled a hole into the window of one of the cells.

At first it was believed the inmate, who was not identified, used a lighter to damage the window. Sheriff personnel have been able to dismiss a lighter as a possible instrument. According to Keith Miles, a detention officer at the facility, the inmates have insisted there were no lighters in the cells. He said such items were usually handed over to the guards after they were asked a few times.

Further investigations have indicated the inmate used a heated pencil to make the hole in the Plexiglas window. The behavior itself was not a surprise to the detention officers.

“They’re criminals, they break windows,” said Miles. “Sometimes they do it right in front of you and sometimes they’re sneaky about it.”

The windows at the jail are Plexiglas screens with four or five spaced layers. The responsible parties would have had to work hard to go through the windows.

It is believed the inmate heated the pencil with a power outlet. According to Miles, there is one power outlet in the cells, which the inmate used to set the pencil on fire.

“It’ll penetrate the window,” said Miles. “But it won’t go through the first time. It takes a couple times to do it.”

The detention officers were especially impressed because of the durability of the windows. According to Mineral County Sheriff Ernie Ornelas, the windows would stand up to direct contact from a blowtorch.

Repairs have been arranged. A new window has been ordered and will be delivered for installation soon. There have also been plans made to change how the wiring is set up in the jail.

Miles explained the televisions in the jail have special screws on the plate covering the wiring, which are difficult to remove. However, inmates have figured out ways to get it off in the past.

“Those guys have nothing all day but [time] to think of how to get that off,” said Miles.

The new set up will have the wiring inside the wall itself where inmates would have a much harder time getting to the wires and outlets. The detention center is currently waiting to have the new wiring done and the old connections removed.

Ornelas said rumors of drugs passed through the hole in the window were false. Miles also talked about how inmates could use the holes to get things from outside.

To prevent this, there were discussions in the past of ways to keep people away from the prison’s walls and windows. Ornelas said there had been talk of putting a fence around the building, to keep people out and hinder escape, before he was sheriff. The idea was rejected, however, on the grounds that it would make the building look like a prison and ruin some of the public image.

The windows also have a built-in barrier to keep people away. Special covers, which block access to the panes while still allowing sunlight in, were installed over the existing windows. Duane Simons, commissioner of the west end, suggested a cover could be placed over the inside of the window to get a similar result.

“They’d still have daylight, but they wouldn’t be able to mess with that glass,” said Simons.