Orange Sues Over Inmates Housed at Lacy

Keeping a promise made only days earlier, Orange city officials have filed a lawsuit seeking to block Sheriff Brad Gates from housing maximum-security prisoners at Theo Lacy Branch Jail.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Orange County Superior Court, claims the sheriff’s move last month to house maximum-security inmates at Theo Lacy violates state law, a court order and action by the Board of Supervisors. They also claim housing dangerous criminals at the jail could endanger neighbors, including homeowners and businesses.

The Orange City Council unanimously voted to initiate the legal action last Tuesday, saying they believe the city is being “trampled on by the sheriff.”

Citing overcrowding in its main jail in Santa Ana, the Sheriff’s Department in April transferred 48 maximum-security prisoners to the 1,326-bed facility, which typically houses medium- and minimum-security prisoners. If not for the transfer, sheriff’s officials said, they would have been forced to release criminals well before their sentences were set to end.

Department officials also have said the sheriff has the legal authority over operations of the county jail system and was within full legal rights in transferring the maximum-security inmates to the Orange facility.

This is not the first time Orange has gone to court over the jail. In 1993, the city lost a costly two-year fight with the county when it tried to prevent an increase in Theo Lacy’s jail population.