i don't get no letters from her. i don't know where she's going to. i wish i knew where she was. >> as he languishes in jail, verlander's only comfort, skye's bittersweet promises. >> when you wake up i rise with you. when you lay down at night i'm there to wrap my arms around and you not let you go. my love is like the wind. you can't see it but you know it's there and you can feel it all around you. that's the only letter i've gotten from her since i've been locked up. >> it must feel like you're all alone. >> i do feel all alone. it kind of sucks.

due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. ♪ gang members disrupt the housing unit. >> they all feed off each other. one's kicking the door, they all join in and start screaming. >> when inmates flood their cells the sert team takes action and they place one in special restraints. >> [ bleep ].

i'll dropped you [ bleep ] first. >> [ bleep ]. >> i told them i could feel an attack was coming on. i feel like i'm going to hurt somebody. >> a female inmate poses a dangerous threat to staff. >> she took a swing at me, scratched my face and it was on. >> she's just like, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. >> we went toe to toe. >> bam. >> when somebody disrespects me or something, we're going to take care of business. >> already facing 16 charges, a gang member picks up five more inside the jail. >> you know, everybody thinks that this job that we have is such a gravy job and such an easy job. i challenge anybody to come in here, work this job for a week, and see if we're overpaid.

from the alamo to its famous river walk, san antonio is one of the most popular tourist destinations in texas. but like any big city, there is a constant fight against crime, and a landmark of that battle is just outside downtown. the bexar county jail is a modern-day fortress that houses approximately 3,500 male and female inmates. most have only been charged with crimes and are awaiting trial for the resolution of their cases. >> we're very regulated on how we treat inmates. we realize that even though they're incarcerated they still have rights. we also realize that we're not here to punish or to convict anyone. it's just to hold them. >> but in jail holding inmates is never a simple proposition. especially when they don't want to be held. >> a lot of the gang members,

because they're secured in the cell for 23 hours a day, they've got all that time to, you know, think of different games they can play with the officers. >> whoo! >> because they're trying to create a reputation for themselves that they're not to be messed with. >> i'm easy to get along with, but once somebody disrespects me or something, we won't -- we're going to take care of business. >> jose hidalgo is a member of what officials describe as the fastest growing and most notorious gang in the jail, the tango orejones. but hidalgo describes the gang as more of a fellowship. >> orejones is supposed to be in prison to make sure a homeboy makes it back safe to our families and make sure if one of our homeboys needs something we're going to be there. >> since the age of 14 hidalgo

has spent most of his life incarcerated. he's been in the jail for the past three years, charged with 16 crimes. >> i got an ag robbery, evading arrest, possession, daily conducts, dwi, assault bodily injury. i got my whole list in my cell. >> hidalgo has entered not guilty pleas on all his charges. he also plans to plead not guilty to the five new criminal charges he's picked up inside the jail. >> two assaults on public servants and two arsons. i did pick one up last week. i've got to wait to get indicted on that. >> what did you pick up last week? >> assault, public servant. >> hidalgo's latest assault on staff occurred after a rare period of good behavior. >> evident most of the time inmate hidalgo's been in our facility he's been housed and grouped alone because we found when we house him in a group with other inmates he tends to rub off on other inmates and instad of dealing with one hidalgo we're dealing with many

of them. however, recently in the past months he's been out of trouble, he's been cooperative and behaving. and one thing he's requested because he's been behaving is a cellmate. and after careful review we allowed him to have a cellie. >> hidalgo's cellmate was steven guerrero, who recently pled guilty to aggravated robbery and is awaiting transfer to prison to serve a five-year sentence. >> grew up pretty good but hanging around the wrong people. i guess a good kid went wrong, huh? >> on the second day guerrero and hidalgo were housed with each other the two inmates quickly showed up on staff's radar. >> hidalgo and his cellmate guerrero were disruptive across the day, and when we did chow later guerrero apparently stuck his arm out the tray slot, wouldn't bring it back in so we could close it. >> after the meal should have corporal lighty and his partner decided to check the cell for

contraband. >> and about the time the door opened i don't remember who was on which bunk, but hidalgo and guerrero both stood up and they came towards the door and they stood side by side, creating a barrier. >> he wanted to search the cell and we ain't trying to let him in. >> so we're like hey, you know, we want to come in and do a cell inspection, we want to search for contraband. and they're like no, you can't get in here. >> they're like get against'll the wall. i'm like no, for what? they're like we're going to shake down. i'm like no, you're not going to shake me down. >> first thought was there's something in the cell. then i realized this is it, there's going to be a fight. >> as corporal lighty's partnership who's requested anonymity tried to pass between the inmates hidalgo attacked him. >> hidalgo hit him. near as i could tell he hit him with his right hand. >> i defended myself and i went off on him. we were fighting. the ofts officer, he was on the floor. >> repeatedly hitting my cellie. >> guerrero then jumped on the officer's back.

>> apparently, he put him in a choke hold with his right and was banging on his head with his left. >> officer qulilighty came to h partner's defense. >> i came in, grabbed guerrero by the arms and tried to pull him off but i sat there for a few minutes wrestling with him a little bit. >> other corporal was trying to restrain me. i'm getting at this other law man trying to get him off my cellie, my homeboy. blood everywhere. >> officers inside the housing unit security control room witnessed the fight and alerted the special emergency response team, or s.e.r.t. >> s.e.r.t. team then allowed, they secured inmate hidalgo. >> they came and dropped their knee on me, boom. split my chin, which caused me to take stitches. the blood's coming out. so i'm laying in my blood. so when i get up and come out, one of my other homeboys seen it. >> as hidalgo and guerrero were escorted by the s.e.r.t. team to medical, another orejon gang member, jeremy gonzalez, witnessed the procession. >> i seen him that he was

bloody. and being that that's my homeboy, like i've been knowing him for a long time and me and him been through a lot and i wasn't going to just let it ride, you know what i'm saying? i let my anger kind of get the best of me too and popped my door with the shank. >> inmate gonzalez apparently was able to defeat the locking device, open the cell door, and he ran out of the cell and was holding a seven-inch piece of metal. >> it was made out of the top blade of a squeegee. >> unfortunately for gonzalez, by the time he figured out how to pop the lock on his door hidalgo, guerrero, and the s.e.r.t. team had already left the unit. >> he came running out in the day room because he thought everyone was still here fighting. he got to right about here and then he realized that, you know, he was a day late for the party. >> it was four laws down there. there was a sergeant, lieutenant, corporal, and

regular officer. >> and he started to get real nervous because, you know, he had no backup. he's over there with a weapon in a secured fit. >> with gonzalez already outnumbered 4-1, members of the s.e.r.t. team escorting hidalgo and guerrero are called back to assist. >> go. go. camera go. camera go. >> i'm not stupid, you know what i mean? i laid it down real quick, threw the shank away from me. just chilled out real quick. >> he threw the knife on the ground, not at the officer. it was very clearly gently thrown to the ground. and then he laid down on the floor, and we secured him. >> escorting inmate. >> luckily, nobody was hurt in the process. what does scare us is that he did have that shank and what does scare us is what would have happened if he was close enough to use it before an officer would have saw it. you know, it could have just as easily have gone bad as it did go good. >> sarge? >> two. >> all three inmates involved in the incident were moved to single-man cells and were given new felony charges.

for gonzalez, the new charge can carry especially serious consequences. he is awaiting trial on a murder charge. he has pled not guilty. >> i just wish i wouldn't have done that because it's going to be like a domino effect with my other case. you know what i mean? just that little case right there is going to get me bad. they're going to see me as a threat to society coming out with shanks in jail, you know what i mean? so that's probably going to -- it's going to sting me, you know what i mean? coming up, backed-up toilets flood a housing unit, and jeremy gonzalez faces off with a special response team. >> opposition. >> my [ bleep ] arm's stuck, you democrat [ bleep ]. >> but first -- >> i had him on account of a pencil. i'm like, you move, and i'll poke your eye out. do not move. >> one of the most feared female inmates in bexar county. 'cause all our states are great. and now is when the gulf gets even better. the beaches and waters couldn't be more beautiful.

take a boat ride or just lay in the sun. enjoy the wildlife and natural beauty. and don't forget our amazing seafood. so come to the gulf, you'll have a great time. especially in alabama. you mean mississippi. that's florida. say louisiana or there's no dessert. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. let's say you pay your guy around 2% to manage your money. that's not much you think. except it's 2% every year. does that make a difference? search "cost of financial advisors" ouch. over time it really adds up. then go to e-trade and find out how much our advice costs. spoiler alert: it's low. really? yes, really. e-trade offers investment advice and guidance from dedicated, professional financial consultants. it's guidance on your terms, not ours. that's how our system works. e-trade. less for us. more for you.

knowing that some of their peers have less than ideal hygiene, many inmates at san antonio's bexar county jail do all they can to make their cells as sanitary as possible. especially raymond diaz. >> 75% of the prison that go to prison with their hygiene habits. you would imagine the opposite, it is not. >> diaz, who's awaiting trial and has pled not guilty to charges of theft, burglary, and cocaine possession, says cleanliness, or the lack of it, can also lead to conflict. >> that's a big part of being locked up. you know, there's people who get dropped, beat up, because they don't keep things clean. >> diaz's cell mate, marcelo cardenas, who is convicted of overaggravated assault and is awaiting to be transferred to prison to begin a six-year sentence, is happy to indulge him. >> he jokes that i have an obsessive-compulsive disorder. but -- >> which is fine for me, right? >> well, i'm not a germaphobe, but being in prison might make

some people anal. >> that's why we keep a tower or shirt to keep the dust out and all because when people walk by it blows dust and hair and stuff like that. for all the people who think we live in filth, on the contrary, we probably have a cleaner -- a cleaner cell than most people's houses. >> while the jail lets most use cleaning supplies, others like erica heywood are only given the bare minimum. >> she's only getting some pine b, which is very little, with some mixture of water, and two sanitary napkins to clean her cell. >> heywood. here you go. all right. let me know when you're done. all right? >> it's just a yellow cleaning solution they give us. and i just basically put it on the floor. i use it for my mattress, the toilet. they won't give me a broom because i had an incident last week with one of the guards and

we got into like a confrontation. so now they won't give me the broom. >> we used to give her brooms and all that stuff and last week she decided she was going to try to jab an officer through the tray slot with the broom. >> in the three months she's been at bexar county, heywood has been cited several times for fighting with staff and other inmates. now she is housed in the high-security female administrative segregation unit, where she is confined to a single-person cell 23 hours per day. it is often a noisy, disruptive unit. >> some of them are very hostile. some are very aggressive. we do have to be very careful because at one moment to another they could just snap at you. >> heywood has done time at the jail on prior convictions. her latest arrest came after a fight with a bank security guard who had ordered her to get off the telephone. >> if he had just approached me differently, i probably would have did that. but he was embarrassing me in front of the whole bank. so we started going off on each

other and he's in my face, i'm in his face. and he reached in, grabbed me. bam, i got him. i took him down. i had a mechanical pencil. i'm like, you move, i'm going to poke your eye out. do not move. >> heywood has yet to be charged on the resulting charge of aggravated assault with bodily injury but plans to plead not guilty on grounds of self-defense. she admits, however, that her temper is hard to control. >> you start to feel yourself bubbling up. you start to feel that hot anger just boiling inside of you like you're going to explode. and you tell yourself you can control it. you tell yourself, i can control this, i'm not going to hurt nobody. but when it actually come time to do it, like bam, you just hit somebody. it's like a reflex. they might say one wrong word to you, bam, you hit them. >> officer lara was also a victim of heywood's temper. >> the day that erica assaulted me i was just doing my

observation rounds and passing out mail like i would normally do. >> i told them in the hallway i could feel the anxiety coming on, i knew an attack was coming on, i feel like i'm going to hurt somebody. >> erica was out in her day room and at that time she was only wearing leg irons. her hands were completely free. >> here's the lady passing out mail. i confront the lady. you know what i'm saying? i'm like why are you trying to play me and this and that? and she's just looking at me like mm-hmm, mm-hmm. >> she took a swing at me, she scratched my face, and it was on. we went toe to toe. i did punch her in the face. i punched her body. all i wanted her to do was stop charging me. because she continued charging me. >> then i started getting her back. i started fighting her back. next thing i know here come the s.e.r.t. team. >> i was able to move out of the way. because all the i saw was a s.e.r.t. officer with a taser.

and they tased her. >> they shot me. i had a probe, like a long string with a pin look like a dart stuck into my body. >> get [ bleep ] off me. >> they got me mostly in the shoulder area, i think, and i could feel myself going out. >> stop resisting, haywood. >> because the pain is so excruciating, all you could do is just take that pain, take that pain, take that pain. >> who shot me? >> my family taught me do not let people disrespect you. we're just like that. we're just very reactive people. this is the way i grew up. so people look at that like she's violent, she's this, she's that. i'm like nowhere near what my family has raised me to be and what -- and they have no idea. >> that's it. [ bleep ]. wetback ho. >> i'm mild. very mild compared to some people. >> [ bleep ] you. coming up --

>> i threw some bodily fluids and things. bodily products. >> erica haywood adds a new weapon to her arsenal. and -- >> i was patting him down in the crotch area and i felt the bulge. a catch like this is pretty rare. >> the ongoing battle to stop the illegal tattoo trade inside the jail.

as in other correctional facilities, tattooing is not allowed at the bexar county jail in san antonio. violators could get up to 60 days in segregation or even face additional criminal charges. but the demand for tattoos on the inside is so great there are always inmate tattoo artists willing to take the risk for a payout of commissary goods or other compensation. >> appreciate those. >> they make ingenious tattoo guns by assembling the parts of other items they are permitted to possess. and staff are constantly on the lookout for them. >> i was patting him down, down in his crotch area, and i felt the -- you know, the bulge,

which is not a usual bulge. i asked him what it is. he just pulled it out, opened it up, and it's a tattoo -- a catch like this is pretty rare. >> that's a good catch, man. >> this right here is from inside of a light, a staple. this is the same copper wire that came from inside of the hair clippers. and two checkers pieces to hold it together. these guys know what they're doing. >> another inmate, marcelo cardenas, is another a tattoo artist but has gained a reputation for crafting high-quality jail tattoo guns. >> i rent the gun. it goes for $30. $25, $30 in this county right here. >> because he's due to leave the jail any day now to start his six-year prison sentence for assault cardenas agreed to demonstrate how it's done. >> right now it's not like i really care about it. if they wrote me up, i'm going to leave before they do the punishment or reprimand on me. >> cardenas starts with wire

scavenged from electric hair clippers. >> we rub the wire like this here. >> he winds the wire around a screw to make a crude electric o'math. but he also needs a metallic magnet which is pilfered from a phone speaker. >> when you put it on here, it bounces with the cycles of electricity. it bounce like this. >> the needle is made from a staple attached to a q-tip shaft. >> and then you use soft string to tie it up. that's pretty much how you do it. the magnet, when it bounce, it push the needle. i don't invent it, but i learned it. >> several other bear county inmates also make their own tattoo guns, or rigs. and the source of their knowledge could very well spring from just one man, jose hidalgo. >> early on in his incarceration he was teaching the other inmates how to create these tattoo rigs, how to do the tattoos, and as a result they

were destroying county property. >> once we're in the cell 23 hours a day, we get creative. breaking lights to get the wire. we burn grease to make the ink. >> even though we pulled him out, the knowledge he gave them on how to make the rigs is still something we're combating today because inmates are constantly making rigs and they're constantly tearing apart the light fixtures, and this is something that he started. >> hidalgo has also been on the receiving end of the jailhouse tattoo trade. >> when inmate hidalgo first came into the facility, he didn't have near as many tattoos as he has now. moffett of the tattoos he has received he has received in our facility, and he's very proud of his tattoos. >> on top of my eyebrows it says requested hood made." i was made in the hood. so that's the reason for that. 237 is my hood. that's the zip code. 78327.

i got the ese san antonio. playboy bunny. i'm a player. that's why i got that. i got females. i got like money. >> hidalgo's underarms display the initials of his gang, tango orejon and on his abdomen is the image of a glock 40-millimeter handgun, which he says is a favorite weapon of drug dealers. >> crack cocaine, an ounce, on the scale. i don't trust no one. especially when you're selling drugs, you can't really trust nobody. even the ones you do it on are the ones that end up sneaking on you. >> even though he's proud of his body art he's starting to worry about how a judge and jury will react to it. he's facing a litany of charges including assault and arson. >> i should have waited until after my trial. but it's too late for all that. a lot of people, they see somebody that's tatted, they're going to judge them. i feel it's going to affect me.

>> coming up. >> a guy started flooding his cell. i asked him why. he said just for no reason. he's notorious for doing stuff like that. >> a major disruption prompts the special emergency response team to take action. >> that's all you got? [ bleep ]. ever. nurses are dealing with a wider range of issues. and there are ever-changing regulations. when you see these challenges, do you want to back away or take charge?

with a degree in the field of healthcare or nursing from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to advance your career while making a difference in the lives of patients. let's get started at capella.edu. are you flo? yes. is this the thing you gave my husband? well, yeah, yes. the "name your price" tool. you tell us the price you want to pay, and we give you a range of options to choose from. careful, though -- that kind of power can go to your head. that explains a lot.

yo, buddy! i got this. gimme one, gimme one, gimme one! the power of the "name your price" tool. only from progressive.

hey there. i'm veronica de la cruz, and here's what's happening. more bodies have been pulled out of a natural gas plant in algeria, the site of a bloody terrorist siege. the death toll is up to 81. at least 23 of the dead were hostages. president obama and the first lady appeared with vice president joe biden and dr. jill biden at a reception sunday night on the eve of his inaugural. the president will have his public swearing in on monday followed by an inaugural address. and you can watch all the inaugural activities right here on msnbc. but first let's get you back to "lockup." due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised.

despite staff's best efforts to stop them, some inmates at san antonio's bexar county jail still find ways to illegally tattoo each other. but if staff can't catch every tattoo, they can at least document them and add them to their intelligence data base. >> tattoos are the most common non-verbal forms of communication in identifying gang affiliation. gang members love to put their gang somewhere visibly on their body so rival gang members or their own gang members can identify them as are they friend or foe. >> let me see your tattoos, man. take off your shirt. what have you got? >> and we train our class officers to look for these identifiers. and if they can't get the gang member to self-admit, then we refer to the gang officers and we look at the tattoos. aside from their tattoos, we'll look at their history in the facility. do they have a history of conducting gang-related activity, strong-arming in the

units, group assaults, things of that kind of nature. in conjunction with their tattoos and that history we can go ahead and establish whether or not we think the guy's a gang member. >> raymond diaz is upfront about his gang-related tattoos. >> the stuff i got on me, a lot of it is gang-related. they call them like stamps, you know. everything was done behind bars with a staple. we don't use fancy needles and all that. the main part of my chest, it's blast, dongo blast. it's probably one of the biggest prison gangs in texas. i chose to put it in big letters on my chest because when i get to a prison unit or a pod or something, the first thing i do is i take off my shirt and it's clearly visible. if someone has a problem with me, they're going to let it be known. >> diaz is also a tattoo artist and says he has applied many of his tattoos himself. most are gang-related. but one is a fan tribute. >> which is my taylor swift.

she's -- i did her for my own personal gratification. i don't know what it is about her, but the first time i ever heard her voice i was locked up. and i would listen to her music and she's got like this really cute country voice. it soothed me. no matter what's going on, there might be fights, chaos. you know, the building might be burning down. but if i'm listening to taylor swift, i'm relaxed. >> but it seems no melody can quiet the outbursts that punctuate life in the administrative segregation wing which houses members of the jail's largest gang, the orejones. >> usually, they'll cause a disruption if they're upset or they just want to gain attention. mostly they're all feeding off each other. if one's kicking the door they all join in and start screaming. >>? days it's worse than others. they're young, rambunctious. they have nothing better to do,

so that's the way they make their noise. you know, everybody thinks that this job that we have is such a gravy job and such an easy job. i challenge anybody to come in here and work this job for a week and see if we're overpaid. >> later in the day, the disturbance escalates when one of the inmates starts flooding the unit. >> the guy in 12 cell started flooding his cell. i asked him why. he said just for no reason. he's notorious for doing stuff like that. >> the inmate is known to staff. jeremy gonzalez. besides facing charges of murder and aggravated assault, gonzalez just picked up another felony charge after confronting jail officers with a 7-inch-long shank. since arriving at bexar county he has been sanctioned for several other infractions as well. >> i've been trying to do good.

i've been doing good for six months straight. i've been trying to chill and get my visits back. you go to depression mode and being aggravated. it messes with your head. you know what i mean? i just couldn't take it anymore. >> within minutes two other inmates add to the flooding. >> they're utilizing their uniforms, whatever material they can find by stuffing it down the toilet drain, and continuously flushing the toilets and causing it to overflow just to be belligerent and skrupt disruptive. >> gonzalez's friend and fellow orejon jose hidalgo says he is not impressed by his actions and that such behavior is now looked down upon by the gang. >> they know we don't do that [ bleep ] no more. they know we don't do that. we assault staff back here now. >> how are you doing? >> the special emergency response team, or s.e.r.t., is mobilized to restrain the troublemakers. >> the s.e.r.t. team was called in due to the flooding.

they came to the office. they had had a trigger to the alarm. the system was activated. they will put them in the hand restraints due to the disruptive behavior. not to harm themselves or and/or anybody else. >> the team begins with gonzalez, who submits to their orders but not quietly. >> back the [ bleep ]. homee. >> anyone who is shackled, they'll be in transfer one to two hours and be medically evaluated every 30 minutes by medical staff. that is medically to see if there's any cramping, any injury toward the inmate himself. >> he had hogtied me. we do this [ bleep ] for fun. >> before long the s.e.r.t. team has restrained two other pairs of cellmates also involved in the flooding. >> you see how they do us like,

damn. >> big-time orejones. >> just when officers think they have the situation under control, gonzalez manages to slip his hands out from behind him. >> i can get out of this easy. >> he's got his restraints off. >> the s.e.r.t. team decides that it's time to deploy the restraint chair, which is designed to temporarily immobilize inmates who pose threats or refuse to follow orders. >> take the head -- >> roll over on your stomach on the mattress. roll over on your mattress, on your chest. you got it? >> as the s.e.r.t. team enters the cell, gonzalez launches a verbal assault. >> [ bleep ]! >> you all going to see, dog. you all going to see. mark my words [ bleep ]. mark my [ bleep ] words. >> notate that he's threatening

everybody, calling them remarks. he's got a hit on everybody. >> [ bleep ]. [ bleep ]. these [ bleep ] chains don't faze me, dog. >> you better hope i never get out of jail and see you in the world, huh? i'll start swinging on you and beat your [ bleep ]. you ain't kidding me, [ bleep ]. i don't gave [ bleep ]. i'll drop you first. >> opposition. >> my arm's stuck, you dumb [ bleep ]. how aim resisting, dog? >> only when gonzalez feels a taser gun pressed against his back does he finally give in. >> secure. >> gonzalez will stay in the chair until he calms down, or up to a maximum of two hours. >> don't faze me, dog. two hours.

after that what's going to happen next? still do the same [ bleep ]. come on, man. come on, man. [ bleep ] ain't going to stop nobody. for a couple hours, yeah, but not for life. i'm still going to do it again and keep doing it. just passing time. coming up -- >> this is one of the spots that we use to hide the tattoo guns. >> the ingenious techniques inmates use to conceal their tattoo paraphernalia. >> that's how we do it. >> and -- she'll take her feces and rom it up into a ball and roll underneath, which actually rolls underneath the other cell. >> erica haywood's disturbing behavior and the impact it has on her neighbors. >> went right under my bed. man. nce of power decisively in your favor. the exclusive 8-speed transmission and rotary shifter

in the 2013 ram 1500. engineered to move heaven and earth. guts. glory. ram. the new ram 1500. motor trend's 2013 truck of the year. the new ram 1500. excuse me, sir i'm gonna have to ask you to power down your little word game. i think your friends will understand. oh no, it's actually my geico app...see? ...i just uh paid my bill. did you really? from the plane? yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance, pretty much access geico 24/7. sounds a little too good to be true sir. i'll believe that when pigs fly. ok, did she seriously just say that? geico. just click away with our free mobile app.

managing a sprawling urban correctional facility like san antonio's bexar county jail is a task full of challenges. from inmates acting up to dealing with gangs and an illicit tattoo trade, officers are constantly put to the test. >> who shot me? >> these inmates in here do have time to study. they know almost everything about your job. they know exactly when you're coming. they know exactly what you're looking for. inmates that are actually doing the tattoo, they'll stop what they're doing, they'll put away everything. all in -- most of the time within 20 seconds. they have time to actually hide their tattoo rigs, their ink. they will hide it on top of the light fixture, under the stairs

as well, in a toilet. they will find any little small opening that they know you won't find and they will put all of their contraband in there. >> hiding anything in jail, where every area is subject to inspection at any time, takes determination and creativity. just ask marcelo cardenas. >> this is one of the spots that we use for -- to hide the guns, the tattoo guns. i'm just right now making one. >> cardenas, who is sharing his secrets because he is soon leaving for state prison and says he is not worried about punishment, has a clever technique for hiding his homemade tattoo guns. the process begins with another piece of contraband, a box hinge. >> this is a tool we use to break the wall little by little. you scratch it. >> in this case since the hole is still small, cardenas demonstrates how he uses a bar of soap to conceal one of the

magnets used in his guns rather than the gun itself. >> the thing we do here is we put the magnet inside the hiding spot. we break the soap so you can fit it. you have to take more time, but right now i'm just showing you. >> cardenas enthen gently peels small strips of paint off the wall. >> we peel that off a little bit. >> then he moistens the paint with water. >> because this paint is based on water. so the water make it sticky again. and then you put some paint on top of this, of the soap like this. but better. you know. so you work like that little by little, and then you have it covered up.

it's like doing a tunnel. that's what mexicans do. we are good at it. >> while cardenas uses stealth to get around jail rules, erica haywood's disobedience is anything but covert. when managing haywood went from difficult to dangerous, jail officials mandated new precautions to prevent further violence. >> it came down that after that assault that happened with me and erica, they now need to have the s.e.r.t. team take her to recreation and bring her right back just in case she tries to assault somebody else. >> now she is only allowed to leave her cell under heavy security. haywood's assault on officer lara came after haywood claimed to have having an affair with a male officer, a charge the officer and his co-workers emphatically deny. >> erica does not have a

romantic relationship with an officer. all she does is write letters to him and causes him stress. >> officer lara believes jealousy drove haywood to attack. >> she started making these allegations. you want to take my man, you want to take my man. i said no, erica. >> haywood's erratic behavior prompted jail officials to order an in-depth psychological evaluation. the results proved her to be mentally competent. >> i stayed in the hospital for two weeks. they were like why are you sneer you're not incompetent. >> she tries to be the victim all the time. if something happens to her, she's always like oh, they did this to me. i really believe erica, she's just one of those mean people. she's not mental. she's just mean. >> stripped of her prichblgds and required to move about under heavy guard, haywood has continued her campaign against staff using the only weapons she has left. >> well, when i protest because they were not picking my trash up, they weren't picking my trays up, i threw some bodily fluids and things.

bodily products. >> she starting gassing officers. basically, gassing is when you take your urine and your feces, you mix it up into a little cup and you let it sit between a couple hours and a couple days, and once the officer comes to retrieve your tray or whatever it is they get from your tray slot she threw it out. that happened last week where it got completely on the right side of the officer. as far as these inmates go we don't know what kind of diseases they have and all that bodily fluids carry. >> haywood's latest actions with bodily substances have gotten the attention of other inestimates in her segregation unit. >> she'll take her feces and roll it up into a ball and throw it underneath, which actually rolls into the other cell. >> she would aim it at certain doors. she'd aim it at 15's door, my door, number 8's door. but it's -- you know, when you make her mad, she knows that we don't like of course [ bleep ]. so she'll try to throw it at our door. >> as disgusting as the garage

might be, haywood's neighbors take it in stride. they've even developed mitigation strategies. >> she actually started getting nice about it. she'd warn us before she's going to do it. she's going to be like okay, what do you say, haywood? >> i'm getting ready to bomb you. >> yeah. she's like better put your [ bleep ] up. so i get this, and i put it like this on the bottom. and i barricade it in there. you know what i mean? so i've got to barricade this on the bottom of my door so she can't throw [ bleep ] in here. one time i got real pissed those because she threw a meatball and i thought it was a piece of [ bleep ] -- >> [ laughter ] >> shut up, girl. my friend said don't worry about it. it's just a meatball. but it looked like a balled-up turd. it went right up under my bed. i was mad.

>> the lady brought me the food and some of the food was missing off my tray. the food was cold. >> this is the crap they feed us. this is what we've got for lunch. >> she's never responsible for what she does. and every time that we try to put like blame on her, this is what you did, this is why the consequences, she's like, oh, no, you triggered it. it's your fault that i am behaving this way. >> she's just something else, for real. >> coming up -- >> this is the life i chose, i guess. it's not the life i'm going choose forever. >> the true cost of jose hidalgo's life choices. >> i mean, i'm still here for him because he is my son. but people grow up and people change, and i hope my son will change. our great states folks visit.f mississippi, alabama, louisiana or florida, they're gonna love it. shaul, your alabama hospitality is incredible.

thanks, karen. love your mississippi outdoors. i vote for your florida beaches, dawn. bill, this louisiana seafood is delicious. we're having such a great year on the gulf, we've decided to put aside our rivalry. now is the perfect time to visit anyone of our states. the beaches and waters couldn't be more beautiful. take a boat ride, go fishing or just lay in the sun. we've got coastline to explore and wildlife to photograph. and there's world class dining with our world famous seafood. so for a great vacation this year, come to the gulf. its all fabulous but i give florida the edge. right after mississippi. you mean alabama. say louisiana or there's no dessert. this invitation is brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home.

i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios! mom, are those my jeans? [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios

hidalgo. >> yeah. >> jose hidalgo is getting ready for a big day.

>> hidalgo. >> for the nearly three years he's been in jail, hidalgo has only seen himself get into deeper trouble. but he's maintained strong support from his family, and today his mother and grandmother have arrived to visit him. >> i visit him as much as i could, maybe every week, every two weeks, and it takes maybe four to five hours to even see him because he is one of the inmates that has to be walked with security next to him. he's not in population. he's always in lockdown. >> hidalgo also gets financial support from his family. they deposit money into his inmate account, which he can use to purchase snacks or toiletries from the jail commissary. >> when i see people don't have their family around, it's trouble. my family help me out a lot,

though. if it wasn't for them, i'd be struggling, too. >> thank you. >> do you all have a passport? >> yes. >> my mom, she only speaks spanish, so when we come here to visit him, we talk to him in both our languages, but she's always there for him. she loves him very much. >> hidalgo? >> hi, mi hijo. >> hi. [ speaking spanish ] >> i want a picture. >> crystal. yesterday. >> she's already 15? oh, rudy. >> hidalgo's mother worries about the extended time her son might have to serve. he's recently added five new felony charges to the 16 that brought him here. >> he's always getting into trouble mainly because he gets mad and frustrated just being

locked up. it worries me because it seems like charges are never going to stop. >> hidalgo now has a trial date for his most serious charge, aggravated robbery. he recently turned down a plea bargain for 25 years, but losing in court could result in a much longer sentence. >> i mean i'm just praying that everything's going to be okay. >> if i beat that one charge, i've still got to wait for the other charges. >> now that he's had all these cases, sometimes i feel that he's never going to come out. i mean i'm still here for him because he is my son, but i hope one of these days he's going to change his life. >> i love you. >> i love you too. >> stay out of trouble. be good. >> this is the life i chose, i guess. this is not the life i'm going

to choose forever. right now i've got to see what's going to happen. that's pretty much it. >> hidalgo's friend, jeremy gonzalez, is in the intensive supervision unit after he burst out of his cell with a seven-inch shank and then flooded his housing unit. his murder trial has been postponed, and in the meantime he has limited his contact with family because it's just too hard to deal with. >> i try not to use the phone because it breaks my head, puts me into a world, i ain't going to be there for a while. you know what i mean? >> despite his efforts to avoid thinking about family, a reminder has just arrived by way of today's mail. >> gonzalez. >> i got this letter from my oldest little sister. she's 12 years old. she's real smart. she gets straight as in school. i'm realud