Vandalism flushes out female cell block at Wayne County jail

An attack on the Wayne County Jail's plumbing system in recent weeks has caused thousands of dollars in damage and  forced jail staff to temporarily relocate several female prisoners.

Sheriff Jeff Cappa said at least one inmate housed in the women's cell block used pieces of fabric and other materials to backlog the toilet system Jan. 6., causing clogged toilets and bad odors throughout the division. He did not indicate whether flooding also resulted from the vandalism.

Cappa said repairs to the system were made within a few days. This isn't his first time dealing with this type of issue.

He said that jail cameras are not directed onto individual cells, from which the clog apparently originated, which makes finding the vandal "next to impossible."

"The (person or persons) responsible for the damage flushed materials down their toilet in order to cause damage to the plumbing here," he told The Palladium-Item on Thursday. "The individual cells collect into one common line where the (backup) occurred, so it's likely we won't be able to determine who caused the issue."

Cappa said the inmates were moved to an open cell block while repairs were made. He said he was unsure of what specifically was done to fix the issue.

The matter was discussed at length with Steve Higinbotham, who is in charge of upkeep for the county's buildings and grounds, during the county commissioners' weekly public meeting Wednesday.

Higinbotham said during the meeting that there was no word yet on the cost to the system, but when questioned on the issue by Commissioner Mary Anne Butters, who asked whether the damage would be "six figures," he said it was unlikely.

"More realistically, it will be (less than that), probably somewhere in the thousands, rather than hundreds of thousands," Higinbotham said.

As for the type of material that was flushed, he said it appeared to have been fabric from inside an inmate's mattress, but wasn't entirely certain. He also said that this, "unfortunately, is just part of the expected wear-and-tear to the building."

"This isn't anything new; these things happen from time to time," Higinbotham told the commissioners. "That doesn't make it any less annoying, of course."

Butters said she was appalled by the actions of the inmates.

"This was an act of vandalism on the jail's (infrastructure)," she said. "It's extremely frustrating."

Cappa said there is unlikely be a change in procedure or camera placement as a result of the incident.

To reach Palladium-Item business reporter Mickey Shuey, call (765) 973-4472. You can follow him on Twitter: @MickeyShueyPI and at facebook.com/mickeyshuey.