Ex-Guards Indicted in Beating of Inmate

Two fired guards were indicted Wednesday for allegedly orchestrating a fight between two inmates at the Seal Beach City Jail, prompting the city to review its ties to the private company that operates the facility.

The former guards, who worked for Correctional Systems Inc. before being fired, are accused by a federal grand jury of arranging and concealing an attack on a drunken inmate who was singing boisterously in the jail’s detoxification cell.

According to the U.S. attorney’s office, one of the officers allegedly goaded the attacker before escorting him into the detoxification cell for the beating. The second guard allegedly helped cover up the incident, which left 28-year-old Arrow Stowers of Huntington Beach badly bruised and bloodied.

The motive for the June 21 attack, prosecutors said, was to quiet down Stowers.

“He was yelling and singing,” said Deputy U.S. Atty. Debora Rodriguez. “That’s pretty standard in the detox cell.”

The U.S. attorney’s office charged Javier Ferreira, 32, of Riverside with federal civil rights violations because he allegedly used his position as a guard to induce an attack on Stowers. The second guard, James Edward Smith, 27, of Long Beach, was charged with being an accessory after the fact for allegedly trying to conceal the incident.

The former guards, who did not return telephone calls Wednesday, must appear in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana on Tuesday to answer to the charges. Ferreira faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Smith could face up to five years’ imprisonment.

Correctional Systems Inc. operates detention facilities throughout Southern California and the West. CSI has run the 30-inmate Seal Beach City Jail since 1994, when officials decided a private operator would save money.

CSI’s management of the jail has been an issue in the past, including lawsuits saying guards did not properly respond to the medical problems of two inmates who died there.

Still, city officials said they are generally pleased with the contractor’s performance.

In the wake of the beating, however, the city began a review of its arrangement and is considering other options, according to the Seal Beach Police Department and the city manager.

“Obviously, we’re going to have to revisit the contract to see if we want to maintain a long-term relationship with CSI,” said the city manager, John B. Bahorski.

Stowers’ attorney said his client was “thoroughly beaten” and continues to suffer emotional wounds from the episode. He says that both the city and CSI are responsible.

“When you get sucked into a jail like this, your life and limb are totally at the whim of your jailer,” said the lawyer, Colin C. Swainston. “The protections at the jail were totally inadequate.”

John R. Forren, president and chief executive of Correctional Systems, did not return telephone calls Wednesday seeking comment.

The company came under scrutiny in 1996 after an inmate at the Seal Beach jail said his fellow inmates regularly smoked marijuana and drank alcohol in view of guards. Those allegations prompted police and company officials to search the facility, but no drugs or alcohol were discovered.

Other cities that have contracted with CSI have reported problems.

Hawthorne police canceled their pact with CSI last year after 18 months and retook control of the jail.

“The biggest issue with CSI was they didn’t have sufficient guards to handle our jail. . . . They would have them work as long as 18 hours, so the guards were unhappy and we were unhappy,” said Hawthorne Police Capt. Richard Prentice. “But we didn’t have any problems like this; never did we have any indication they were abusive to prisoners.”

In addition, the company has been hit with two wrongful-death lawsuits since 1999 related to the two inmate deaths at the Seal Beach jail. The company was accused in each case of failing to protect inmates admitted with medical problems. One lawsuit was settled and the other is pending, said attorney Timothy Ryan, who represented family members in both cases.

The Seal Beach jail is known as a “pay to stay” facility, where for a fee some people convicted of nonviolent crimes can serve out their terms there instead of the county jail.

The U.S. attorney’s office said it doesn’t plan to charge the inmate who allegedly beat up Stowers. But the Orange County district attorney is still considering charges.

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Times staff writer Stanley Allison contributed to this report.