The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against several Green Hill School inmates last month for alleged offenses that took place at the Chehalis juvenile detention facility.
Matthew Sherman, 18, was charged with one count of custodial assault on Aug. 2 for allegedly spitting in a staff member’s face on May 3. He had reportedly “spit towards” a staff member earlier in the day and was warned “potential charges could result if he spit on a staff member,” according to court documents. When told after the second offense that “he was warned previously, his response was ‘I don’t care,’” according to court documents.
Sherman’s preliminary hearing took place on Aug. 7. Arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 15.
Jonell Maurice Irvin Swan, 19, was charged with one count of custodial assault on July 10 for allegedly hitting a Green Hill staff member twice with a water bottle and trying to punch her with a closed fist on June 7. He entered a not guilty plea on July 25 and trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 14.
On July 11, Swan was also charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance while in a state correctional facility after Green Hill reported finding marijuana inside Swan’s cell on March 4. Swan had his preliminary hearing on Aug. 6 and arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 15.
In that same March 4 search, Green Hill staff reported finding marijuana and a cellphone underneath a bed belonging to Swan’s cellmate, 18-year-old Myking Lee. Lee was charged July 11 with two counts of possession of a controlled substance while in a state correctional facility. His preliminary hearing took place on Aug. 6 and arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 15.
Three other Green Hill School inmates were charged in July for possession of a controlled substance within a state correctional facility.
Joseph Allen Odden, 20, was charged July 5 for allegedly having “a piece of foil with a liquid inside, suspected to be contraband” inside his room on April 27. He entered a not guilty plea on July 18 and trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 7.
Isaiah Jamon Andrews, 19, was charged July 24 after his mother allegedly “passed an object to her son” during a visit on July 14. Staff later reportedly found “marijuana and/or cannabis, and/or methamphetamine,” inside the object, according to court documents.
Andrews entered a not guilty plea on Aug. 8.
Robbrie Purdell Thompson, 22, was charged July 31 after staff reported finding contraband among his possessions on July 12. Thompson was one of 43 Green Hill School inmates transferred into Department of Corrections custody on July 12 due to overcrowding issues at the facility. When staff searched the belongings he left behind at Green Hill, they reportedly found a water bottle with a false bottom containing a cellphone, a charging cable, a “piece of paper with a substance inside” and “other items,” according to court documents.
A judge has since ordered that all 43 of the transferred inmates be returned to Green Hill School.
Thompson was in custody at Green Hill School as of his preliminary hearing on Aug. 7. Arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 15.
One former Green Hill School inmate, Salomon De Alba, 21, was charged June 28 with one count of possession of a weapon by a prisoner after the facility reported that staff found a metal rod in his cell on either May 28 or April 29, according to court documents. The date of the incident was listed inconsistently between the charging information and the affidavit of probable cause filed in Lewis County Superior Court.
De Alba was issued a summons notice for an Aug. 6 preliminary hearing, which he was not present for, prompting a judge to issue a $25,000 bench warrant.
Green Hill School began reporting all seized contraband and all assaults involving three or more inmates to the Chehalis Police Department in October, according to Green Hill School interim Superintendent Jason Aldana.
In a statement to a Chronicle reporter in March, Aldana said he reached out to former Centralia Police Chief Stacy Denham and Chehalis Police Chief Randy Kaut shortly after the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) executed a search warrant at the facility on Aug. 31, 2023. Unreported evidence and contraband was seized from lockers as the warrant was served.
Aldana said he met with Kaut and Chehalis Deputy Chief Matt McKnight in early September to go over a pilot system for reporting assaults and seized contraband to the Chehalis Police Department.
Kaut confirmed in April that the Chehalis Police Department does regularly recover contraband that has been seized by Green Hill staff. The department also regularly receives reports of incidents within the facility, including found contraband and prison riots, which are defined as a physical altercation involving three or more inmates.
The juvenile detention has been criticized by Denham and Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, on several occasions in the past year, with Braun calling on Gov. Jay Inslee to open an investigation. Inslee has refused to do so, though he has noted that there have been security improvements at the facility since JNET served the warrant.
The state Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCFY), which runs Green Hill School, announced Friday, July 5, that the juvenile detention center will temporarily suspend entries until the facility reaches “sustainable levels” of population.
According to DCYF, the overpopulation could take months to resolve. The move comes five years after the passage of JR to 25, which allows some offenders to serve their sentences in juvenile rehabilitation even after they become adults, took effect.
Instead of being sent to either Green Hill or Echo Glen, newly sentenced offenders will remain in custody at county facilities, according to DCYF, with the department providing financial support.
When two reporters from The Chronicle toured Green Hill in late March, a spokesperson said the facility housed more than 200 residents, which exceeded “best practices.”
In addition to an uptick in population, both facilities have seen a series of high-profile corrections staff’ misconduct and other security lapses in recent years.
At Green Hill, a corrections staff member was arrested in March for allegedly “turning a blind eye” while two Green Hill inmates attacked another inmate in early January. The employee faces one count each of prison riot, abuse of office and fourth-degree conspiracy to commit assault.
Another corrections staff member was arrested July 24 for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with an adult inmate, providing the inmate with contraband and discussing details of the case with a person of interest. That staff member faces custodial misconduct and witness tampering charges.
Also in July, a corrections staff member was arrested for allegedly selling meth and other contraband to an inmate on June 15. That employee was charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance in a state or county correctional facility by a non-prisoner and second-degree introducing contraband.
Months earlier, another corrections staff member was arrested for allegedly bringing controlled substances into the facility, according to the Chehalis Police Department.
