Three teens in youth prison uprising take deals

Kim Smith

Tuesday, July 31, 2001 | 9:44 a.m.

Three teenagers who sought to prove their participation in a juvenile prison uprising was justified have taken deals.

In exchange for their admissions of guilt, Chief Deputy District Attorney Bob Teuton agreed to drop his attempts to transfer the boys into the adult system. He also agreed to dismiss a handful of felony charges against the youths.

One of the boys pleaded guilty to misdemeanor rioting and the other two pleaded guilty to misdemeanor rioting and malicious destruction of property.

The young men could be placed on probation or they could end up back in custody at Summit View or another youth correctional facility. Family Court Judge Dianne Steel is scheduled to sentence them Aug. 29.

The boys were among 20 who climbed on top of a roof at the facility June 1 and caused more than $12,000 worth of damage during a three-hour disturbance that had to be quelled by Metro Police.

According to attorneys for many of the boys, plus former employees at the facility, the uprising was sparked by their frustration over a number of issues.

The inmates allege employees of the facility routinely engage in sexual misconduct with other boys within the facility and with each other. In addition, they allege staff members have shared drugs and alcohol with the teens, but have failed to provide them rehabilitation programs.

Officials at Summit View have said the uprising was caused by teens upset at recent changes in their programs. Facility administrator Jason MacIntyre said he was unaware of the sex and substance abuse allegations.

J.D. Evans, James Guesman and William "Lew" Wolfbrandt, the attorneys for the three boys who pleaded guilty Monday, had asked Steel last week for the opportunity to investigate further.

The attorneys hoped to obtain enough damaging information against the privately run facility that Steel would not transfer their clients into the adult system.

When Teuton offered to drop his attempts to certify the boys as adults and gave them the opportunity to plead guilty to misdemeanors, the attorneys urged their clients to accept the deals.

The attorneys said Monday that Teuton has also agreed to subpoena records from the facility they believe will substantiate the boys' claims. Such documents would have been difficult for them to get on their own.

Wolfbrandt said the records will be used to ask Steel to be lenient at their August sentencing.

Teuton said he didn't offer the teens deals because of the allegations made. Instead, he said, he brokered the deals because of their limited involvement in the uprising and their relative youth.

Guesman said that although the boys, theoretically, could be sent back to Summit View, they won't be.

"We have a strategy that will ensure they or any other child won't go to Summit View until things are fixed," Guesman said.

A fourth teen also took a deal Monday. Edward Fuentes agreed to be transferred into the adult system and announced he will plead guilty to attempting to damage prison property, a felony, in District Court.

Fuentes could receive probation or a one to four-year prison sentence. Teuton promised not to argue against probation, but reserved the right to argue the boy should get six months in jail as a term of his probation.

The vast majority of the other 20 youths have already accepted deals, and two juveniles have yet to appear in court.