Tag: jail riot

By Caleb Hutton

BELLINGHAM — Five inmates who bunked in a maximum-security cell block of the Whatcom County Jail were charged Wednesday, Oct. 31, with rioting.

Here’s the story we ran when it happened. That article lists what each suspect was in for.

And here’s a PDF of the charges, with this gem of a quote from an inmate: “This is what happens when you mess with our time.” (Aside: Those charges are for one particular inmate, picked at random. They’re the same for each defendant.) The D Block Five are charged with the crime of “prison riot” and malicious mischief in the first degree. Both are class B felonies.

It’s worth noting that a sixth inmate, Dustin C. White, was not charged, even though he was originally named as an instigator by the sheriff’s office. Corrections Chief Wendy Jones said her best guess is White was out in the day room just before the riot started, but “when everything started going sideways” he retreated to his cell.

The total estimated cost of the riot was $15,000. That’s about $10,000 for the actual damage and about $5,000 for labor and miscellaneous costs. For example, the sheriff’s office (by way of taxpayers) had to pay overtime for each deputy who was called in for backup.

The vent that was used as a kind of battering ram is fixed now, in a way that should be impossible for future inmates to pry it off.

But Jones estimated it’ll take two more weeks before other repairs are done. Sixteen beds will be unusable until then, in an already cramped jail. The jail has to put in a special order for the glass used in the cell block.

“It’s not something most glass shops keep on hand,” Jones said.