Five people were hospitalized Wednesday morning due to possible drug exposure inside Lospadrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, officials said.
Vicky Waters, communications director for the LA County Probation Department, which oversees the juvenile hall, said the hospitalization was due to “a suspected overdose and possible exposure to an unidentified substance.”
Waters said a young man from the hall and probation staff were among the young man who was taken to the hospital Wednesday morning. She had no idea what the substance was, where it was found, or what time the incident occurred.
Waters said Downey police and fire officials responded to the hall as well as crews of dangerous materials.
The latest incident comes amid ongoing drug issues in the county’s juvenile hall.
On Monday, an employee of a nonprofit tutoring company was arrested in Los Padrinos and is said to be carrying 170 pills, believed to be Xanax. Last month, LA prosecutors charged a probation officer by smuggling Xanax into a safe youth treatment facility at Barry J. Nidolph Juvenile Hall in Sylmer. He also received a drug overdose in Lospadrinos in April, shortly after probation officers discovered a large amount of Xanax in the facility.
Los Padrino has been subject to extensive scrutiny by state and county officials. In May, a judge ordered more than 100 young people to be moved out of Downey Hall after the facility repeatedly failed an investigation conducted by the state watchdog.
Atty, California. Gen. Rob Bonta also said earlier this year that he was pondering the national takeover of LA County’s juvenile justice system after years of scandals, riots, drug overdose and allegations of young people abused officers.
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