NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Seven inmates escaped their cells at the Newport News City Jail last week, but they were never a threat to the public, Sheriff Gabe Morgan said during a Wednesday press conference.
The incident happened around 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 2, according to Morgan, who said the jail was under lockdown when the situation unfolded.
“They were upset because they were on lockdown because of failing to comply with rules and regulations, and they decided they were going to revolt because of the lockdown,” Morgan said.
Court documents obtained by 10 On Your Side state that inmate Jordan Blue was caught on camera opening his cell door at 1:06 p.m.
Morgan did not specify what the inmate used to pry the cell door open.
“I don’t want to get into the details of what it was pried open with, because I don’t want copycats,” Morgan said.
Morgan said there aren’t physical locks on the doors, rather they are mechanically operated. Court documents revealed that all of the cell doors were found to be secured properly before the incident took place.
Blue allegedly got out of his cell and started trying to open the cell doors of other inmates.
Court documents say six other inmates were also caught on camera allegedly trying to open the cells of others around this time.
Morgan said a total of seven inmates made it out of their cells, but they never left the dayroom area, and the incident lasted just a few minutes.
“They filled blue baskets with water,” Morgan said. “They threw water out, they threw food out. They just commenced to making [a] mess, turned on the water trying to flood the place.”
Morgan said one of his deputies came over and ultimately de-escalated the situation.
“Did they attempt to escape? Yes, and if you read the Code of Virginia, they manipulated the lock of that individual cell, which is a chargeable offense, and they were charged,” Morgan said. “Was the public ever in danger? Never.”
Blue, along with inmates Darius Baskert, Trevon Avery, Antonio Hopes, Eric Davis, Sayvion Jones and Daniel Bowles, are accused of “willfully [breaking, cutting, or damaging] any building, furniture, fixture, or fastening of such facility or any part thereof for the purpose of escaping, aiding any other prisoner to escape therefrom or rendering such facility less secure as a place of confinement.”
Morgan added that he hopes that the inmates allegedly involved in this incident face the maximum sentence of five years for what happened.
“I want to send a strong message. One, we hold people accountable. Two, not here. We’re not doing this,” Morgan said.
He did assure all of the inmates were still contained and did not pose any danger to the community.
Above is the full press conference the Newport News Sheriff’s Office held on 7/9.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.