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| Surprise sweep conducted at Luzerne County prison |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/29/2004 |
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A 90-person search team and a dozen dogs trained to sniff out drugs and weapons conducted a surprise sweep at the Luzerne County (Pa.) prison but mostly found contraband cigarettes. The state Certified Emergency Response Team conducted the raid from around 1:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. last Saturday, said Sam Hyder, deputy warden for security. Prisoners were awakened, handcuffed and led to a common area while their cells were searched, and they were strip-searched before being allowed back to their cells, he said. "They took them by total surprise," Hyder said. "They were asleep in their bunks." The sweep started at the county's DUI facility, which houses 140 work-release inmates, then continued at the female work-release facility and the main building, involving about 700 inmates in all. "I don't want to leave an impression that there's going to be a lot of charges coming out of this," said Luzerne County District Attorney David Lupas. "Most of what was found was tobaccolike products." Officers' lockers also were searched, though no contraband was found, said Joe Morris, a deputy warden. None of the 22 overnight officers on duty during the raid was forewarned. Officials said that suspected marijuana and pills believed to be narcotics made up a tiny fraction of what was found. Prison officials will inventory the items and turn over the information to the District Attorney's Office. The state Corrections Department has cited problems with the prison, where double-murder suspect Hugo Selenski and his cellmate knocked out a window and shinnied down knotted bedsheets. |
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