THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408280074
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LISE OLSEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
At least 200 inmates were wading in water up to 6 inches deep in City Jail cellblocks after a saboteur succeeded in jamming the sprinkler system Saturday afternoon.
For 45 minutes, as city officials scrambled to shut off the sprinklers, the water rose up to the shins of deputies and inmates. No inmates were moved - with an overcapacity crowd of more than 1,400 prisoners, there was no place to put them. ``They were hollering: `Let me outta here,' '' one deputy told her co-workers.
Jail officials built levees using garbage bags filled with clothing to keep the water out of offices. But it flooded much of the second floor and spilled down onto the first, leaving prisoners and workers alike with wet shoes and socks.
The trouble started with a prisoner who shouldn't be in the jail at all: A man convicted of cocaine possession who has been awaiting transfer to the state prison system for five months.
The inmate, James Miles, set the fire using permitted smoking materials, triggering the sprinkler system at 1:30 p.m, according to Sheriff Robert J. McCabe. Then Miles broke the sprinkler head, sending high-pressure water spewing into his second-floor cell.
Smoking will be banned in the jail as of Dec. 1 for workers, guests and inmates alike. But inmates are slowly being weaned off cigarettes, McCabe said. Miles won't be allowed any more smoking privileges, McCabe said.
Jail officials were weighing whether to charge Miles with destruction of city property Saturday. Charging him could mean further delays in transferring him out of the Norfolk jail.
Miles, who is serving a five-year sentence, is one of about 450 felons housed in the jail while awaiting transfer to the state prison system. The state has promised to move more than 100 this week, McCabe said.
A dozen volunteers - all inmates - spent much of the afternoon sweeping the water down the stairs and out the doors, since there are no drains. No new prisoners were put into cells for much of the afternoon. But there was no major damage or interruptions to service, according to Maj. Roger Stephenson.
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK CITY JAIL by CNB