4 Inmates Charged in Food-Taint Plot : D.A. Labels County Jail Incident That Sent 20 to the Hospital a Conspiracy

The district attorney’s office on Friday filed charges against four County Jail inmates, accusing them of conspiring to poison their own food in an incident last month in which 20 inmates were taken to hospitals after complaining about possible food poisoning.

Friday’s charges are the upshot of an investigation by the Sheriff’s Department, which said it has gathered enough evidence--including information from other inmates--to charge the four with felony conspiracy to poison food and falsely reporting food tampering, said Sgt. Bob Takeshta.

The charges come three weeks after deputies at the downtown County Jail took all but one inmate being held in the protective custody section to two hospitals after the inmates’ dinner.

The inmates, who complained of nausea, headaches, dizziness and vomiting, were treated and returned to the jail the same night, except for one who was kept overnight for observation.

Food Discarded

County health officials who investigated the June 9 incident said they could not draw any definitive conclusions because the food was discarded before it could be subjected to a toxicology test. The symptoms reported by the prisoners, however, were consistent with chemical food poisoning, said Dr. Nancy Bower, acting director of the county Department of Health Services.

Named in the complaint were Richard Benjamin Luken, 26; Todd William Knivila, 27; Terry Douglas Bemore, 29, and Earnest Guzman, 31.

In interviews, three of the four said they knew nothing about how the food was poisoned.

“All I did was eat the food and get sick,” said Knivila, who has been in jail since April on unrelated charges.

Knivila claimed sheriff’s investigators have asked him and other inmates who got sick to deny they were ill. He also claimed that inmates who did so were released from jail earlier than scheduled.

Takeshta said he couldn’t respond to Knivila’s claims.

Takeshta claimed that inmates in the protective custody unit never were ill from tainted food but rather suffered from self-induced “hysteria” when they believed they had been poisoned.

“The inmates placed dirty toilet water in a tray of food . . . and they proceeded to pass around the trays . . . and convince the other inmates that their food had been tampered with,” said Takeshta, who called the incident “a conspiracy for personal gain.”

Takeshta maintained that the four inmates who have been charged in the case had planned to use the incident for several purposes, including gaining early releases, having specially prepared food brought to them and possibly filing suit against the county.

Betty Wheeler, legal director of the local office of the American Civil Liberties Union, was not available for comment on the charges but had said earlier that the incident is disturbing because it raises questions about the care given food served inmates held in protective custody.

Wheeler said it is unusual for jail officials to take such a large number of inmates to the hospital, but Takeshta called it an act of good faith.

Takeshta said the investigation is continuing and more inmates might be charged.

Bail for each of the suspects has been set at $10,500, and they are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.