Chula Vista Riot Likely to Cost County Nearly $40,000

A Saturday night riot in a crowded cellblock at the San Diego County jail in Chula Vista is expected to cost the county nearly $40,000 for repairs, transportation and medical treatment, a jail commander said.

Everything that could be easily torn off was destroyed during the 20-minute brawl, said San Diego County Sheriff’s Capt. Charles Wood.

“TVs and water fountains were broken, and telephones were torn out of the wall,” Wood said. “The damage was minor and shouldn’t be more than $3,000 or $4,000.”

Wood said medical treatment for the inmates would be the biggest expense.

“If you figure the cost for medical treatment, and transporting the inmates, each visitation will cost roughly $2,000,” Wood said.

He said most of the 18 inmates who were treated at hospitals in San Diego and released.

“We are in the process of cleaning things up, and the cellblock should reopen in a couple of days,” Wood said.

The disturbance between black and Latino inmates broke out in a common area, and cellblock 3-A was locked down, restricting inmates to their cells. The lockdown was lifted Sunday after an undisclosed number of inmates were transferred to other county jails.

The cellblock was designed to house 24 people, but, at the time of the riot, it contained 113 inmates. On Saturday, the jail held 782 inmates, but was built to hold 192. On Monday, 682 inmates were in the jail.

Deputies are still investigating the disturbance.