Las Vegas Sun

November 8, 2009

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Teen hurt in detention center fight

Cathy Scott

Tuesday, Dec. 17, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

A teenage boy being held in the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center was injured when two youths he was bunking with attacked him, officials said.

The three teens were being housed in a room together, said Director Kirby Burgess.

The teen, whose name was not released because of his age, suffered bruises and was taken to a local hospital where he was examined and admitted for observation, Burgess said. His condition was not available.

The boy did not tell security officers until the morning after the attack, Burgess said. "They probably intimidated him," he said.

Metro Police and the district attorney's office were notified and are investigating, Burgess said.

The fight occurred sometime between late Saturday and early Sunday, he said.

He said he didn't know what the motive was for the attack.

"Unfortunately, given the situation in the detention center, sometimes we happen to put three kids in a room," he said.

The capacity for the detention center is 112. Over the weekend, 184 juveniles were housed there, Burgess said.

"The ideal situation is you have one child per room," he said. "Thank God the bond passed and we won't have to do that anymore."

The justice bond, approved by voters in September, set aside $45 million to double the size of the Juvenile Detention Center.

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