Officials don’t expect a similar riot in LV

Kim Smith

Thursday, Dec. 16, 1999 | 9:38 a.m.

Las Vegas' Cuban inmate population is anxiously watching as the hostage situation in a Louisiana jail drags on, but jail officials say the chances of a similar situation here are slim.

On Monday, a handful of Cuban Immigration and Naturalization Service prisoners took four hostages at the St. Martin Parish jail and demanded that they be released from custody.

Four of the five inmates are so-called "indefinite detainees" because they have been ordered deported by the United States, but Cuba will not take them back. There are approximately 2,500 inmates nationwide from various countries that are in the same situation.

Here in Las Vegas, attorneys with the U.S. Public Defender's Office went before the state's five federal judges in November arguing for the release of more than 100 indefinite detainees. No decision has been reached yet.

According to the INS, there are 64 Cuban inmates in Las Vegas.

Ruben Villalobos, assistant U.S. Public Defender, said the clients he has spoken to are keeping a close watch on the situation in Louisiana through TV and newspapers.

"The indefinite detainees are anxiously awaiting a peaceful resolution to the hostage situation in Louisiana and like all other indefinite detainees, the Las Vegas detainees are physically and emotionally spent both from their years in INS custody as well as the uncertainty of when, if, ever, they will be released," Villalobos said. "They can understand the frustration felt by the detainees in Louisiana. It's getting to the point that the detainees don't know what to do."

INS retribution is a concern, Villalobos said.

"They fear the incident in Louisiana may cause the INS to further restrict their already harsh conditions of confinement, and they only hope this unfortunate event will bring their desperate situation to attention of the public and that the INS will finally remedy their hopeless situation," Villalobos said.

Mike Sheldon, chief of detention and enforcement at the Las Vegas Detention Center, said his officers are spending a little bit more time in the INS unit, but only as a precaution.

Sheldon described the unit as calm and said that typically, INS inmates are less troublesome than the general population.

"We've never found anything serious in there, like weapons or drugs," Sheldon said. "The worst thing we've found is a little tattooing kit an inmate made, and we found that before they were able to use it."

Sgt. Daniel Lake, public information officer at the North Las Vegas Detention Center, said his officers are aware of the situation as well and are keeping their "eyes and ears open."

"It's all quiet on the home front, if you will," Lake said. "We're monitoring the situation, but we haven't noticed any tenseness. The mood is the same."

Karen Dorman, officer in charge of the Las Vegas INS Office, said she doesn't believe any of the Las Vegas inmates have been in custody as long as some of those in Louisiana. One of them claimed to have been in custody 13 years.

"We haven't issued any additional cautionary words to our officers," Dorman said. "I'm sure anyone entering that environment knows what to expect and knows how to act."