Suspects’ Trusty Status Violated Rules of Jail

Two Los Angeles County Jail workers who allegedly used their special status to gain access to and murder a fellow inmate got their trusty jobs in violation of jail rules, according to jail officials and authorities investigating a string of five killings.

Jae Cho, who was awaiting trial on a murder charge, along with Kyu Hon Lee, charged with attempted murder, allegedly used their freedom as jailhouse workers to make their way into a locked dorm room at Men’s Central Jail in October to kill another inmate. Detectives say the men pulled the inmate off his bunk, strangled and stabbed him before stuffing his body into a trash bin.

Jail rules disqualify defendants charged with murder from trusty jobs because of security considerations. A written order at Men’s Central Jail, the largest such facility in the county, directs that inmates should be “screened and removed from their work status” if they are charged with murder, rape or assault with a deadly weapon.

Throughout the county, some 800 inmates are trusties. They perform such tasks as sweeping hallways, picking up trash and preparing food. Jail officials say Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca can’t afford to hire civilian workers for those jobs. Jail officials say they do not know how many trusties have been charged with violent crimes.

Prosecutors said they have been warning the department about inmate workers for years. The dangers stem from the freedom trusties have to leave their cells to clean and perform other duties, sheriff’s officials and prosecutors said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Danette Meyers said deputies should more carefully select and supervise the workers. “It’s ludicrous,” she said.

Sheriff’s Chief Chuck Jackson, who heads the Correctional Services Division, said he urges his staff to especially avoid using murder suspects as workers but said deputies sometimes don’t have other options. Those charged with rape or assault with a deadly weapon are also supposed to be disqualified. With many nonviolent offenders being released after serving short sentences, Jackson said the pool of possible laborers has been narrowed significantly.

“We’re running out of Sunday school kids to do trusty jobs,” he said. “We are using a higher level inmate to do some of these trusty jobs. But if that’s all you have, that’s what you use.”

A task force appointed by Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley to review five recent jailhouse murders is studying the issue of inmate workers. Deputy Dist. Atty. Gary Hearnsberger, a member of the task force, said the worker selection process should be carefully examined to prevent more attacks.

“You are giving [inmate workers] a certain level of trust,” he said. “If that is what you are going to do, shouldn’t you be very selective in how you choose trusties?”

The Sheriff’s Department should also more closely supervise jailhouse laborers, Hearnsberger said, and hire more civilian employees to handle some of the jobs in jail. But Jackson said there isn’t enough money.

The exclusion of murder suspects as trusties came after an escape in 1997 from the North County Correctional Facility by Robert Carrasco, who had been assigned as a trusty despite two pending murder charges. He gained access to an exercise yard because of his status, then used a rope made from dirty laundry to scale a fence and escape. He was recaptured shortly afterward.

That same year, Pedro Carvajal was granted trusty status, despite his conviction for three rapes and a 94-year sentence. He took a service elevator at the Pitchess Detention Center to the basement and tried to pry open a vent. After a 14-hour manhunt, he was discovered hiding amid boxes.

In another case, prosecutors said an inmate known as “Big Evil” was assigned as a trusty after being sentenced to death for killing two people in South Los Angeles in 1991. Cleamon Johnson, a leader in the violent street gang 89 Family Bloods, was in County Jail awaiting trial on a new murder case at the time. While an inmate worker, prosecutors said, Johnson used his privileges to intimidate witnesses against him.

Each of the county jail facilities sets its own policies on the selection of inmate workers. The policy at Men’s Central Jail, where four of the five recent killings took place, is supposed to disqualify inmate workers if they have mental problems, if they have no bail or high bail or if they are charged with crimes such as murder, rape or assault with a deadly weapon. Officials say they are not sure how many of the inmate workers have been charged with violent crimes.

There are three types of inmate workers at Men’s Central Jail. Some are restricted to their housing areas, completing jobs such as washing walls, handing out toilet paper or picking up trash. Others are assigned to work in areas such as the medical clinics, kitchens, laundry or the Inmate Reception Center. Still others are allowed to work on crews outside the jail, maintaining the grounds.

Jackson said sheriff’s officials were constantly reevaluating the trusty system and figuring out better ways to screen and supervise them.

“We are never going to be a perfect world in here,” he said. “Anytime you let an inmate out, they are going to take advantage of the opportunity.... We just try to monitor them the best we can.”