31 Sunday Visitors Arrested With Illegal Goods at Jail

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies arrested 31 people Sunday for bringing guns, drugs and alcohol to the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho in Castaic, authorities said.

Deputies confiscated five handguns and quantities of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and alcohol from visitors who were searched in the parking lot of the 5,900-inmate county jail facility, Sheriff’s Sgt. John Andrews said.

“We do this periodically to let people know that we want to eliminate the contraband coming into the facility,” Andrews said.

Signs at the entrance to the facility warn that it is a crime to possess guns, alcohol or narcotics on jail grounds and that visitors are subject to search, Andrews said.

Those arrested were booked for a variety of charges that included possession of weapons, narcotics and alcohol, Andrews said. The women arrested were booked at the Sybil Brand Institute and the men were booked at Central Jail, he said.

An average of 3,000 people visit the facility on Sundays, Andrews said. The Pitchess Honor Rancho holds inmates serving sentences and others who are awaiting trial, he said.