due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. the guy you're looking for. >> stand by. >> srt. left! >> after a tip that a potentially violent inmate is plotting an escape, the special response team is called to action. >> trustees, that means you're

supposed to be trust worthy much more so than a regular inmate. i'm not going to have one of my officers getting stabbed or one of you getting stabbed. >> the discovery of a shank in the kitchen could result in criminal charges for an inmate worker. >> i'm going home this month. i'm not trying to jeopardize that. i have three kids and a wife. >> after he hit me, i was able to get in close to him and able to move him to the ground. >> a younger inmate experiences the agony of pepper spray -- >> it burns! it burns! it burns! rising 11 stories above the shores of lake erie, cuyahoga

correction center encompasses half a block in the downtown. some of the inmates here have been convicted, most have only been accused of crimes and awaiting trial of the resolution of the cases. those on the upper floors have a perfect view of the nearby football stadium but life behind the walls is anything but fun and games. >> let's go! >> that goes for staff as well. >> this is not the easiest place to work in. it's all concrete and rough edges. >> stick out your tongue. altercations come up and we have to alleviate those as quick as possible.

>> view of your hands. real tough? >> inmate lawrence recently sentenced to ten months for aggravated theft now awaiting transfer to prison has been subdued by the special response team after swinging at an officer. >> lawrence silva -- >> the inmate asked me to help him out with the situation, get back to the back wall of your cell. i entered the cell and he said it's [ bleep ] up i'm up here. sir, i just got into this pod, i don't know what situation you're in. he took a step and threw his right fist toward me. i was able to get out of the way. he caught me in my upper right shoulder. after he hit me, i was able to get in close to him and able to move him to the ground. and i was lucky enough my partner heard me. >> oh, my god! >> my partner was able to run in

and i moved out of the way as he sprayed him with the oc spray. >> oh, my god this [ bleep ] burns! please! please! >> calm down. >> it burns. it burns! it burns! it burns! it burns! >> anybody that carries the oc spray has to have it done to them. it is probably the the worst hour and a half i've experienced that i can think of. it makes everything hell. >> staff wash the pepper spray from his face and eyes but the effects will linger for at least several more minutes. >> it burns! oh, my god! oh, my god! oh, my god! oh, my god! >> calm down.

>> though he initially denied swinging at the officer, he later indicated otherwise. >> why did you -- >> i'm sorry, i didn't mean to. >> why? >> because i was angry. i was angry. >> after treatment from medical staff, he is confined in what could be described as the jail's worst neighborhood, security segregation. >> ain't got no toothbrush or toothpaste. ain't got no -- in here. >> he's not in security segregation status in which things are taken away, cup and spoon and toothbrush and toothpaste, he can get it back but it's taken away as security status. any time he comes out of the cell, he has to be handcuffed and shackled. we're going to conduct a board hearing for you and i'll explain everything to you. >> it will determine whether silk spends his time in segregation or if he can return

to general population prior to his transfer to prison. >> any evidence to present at the hearing? >> no. >> i need you to read through this -- >> i didn't do nothing, man. >> that's why you're having this. >> it don't matter what i say, i'm always wrong. inmate is always wrong. when it comes to anybody who works for the system, we're always wrong. >> this is why we're doing the hearing. >> but it don't. >> yes, it does. >> the assault is considered among the most serious of infractions and staff must also stay on top of a litany of others, like gambling. >> they come take that [ bleep ] away from you. that ain't acceptable here. >> gambling might not be in the cards now, but prior to his arrest, ronald wells was a regular at one of downtown cleveland's most popular attractions, the horseshoe casino. >> i love gambling on the streets. when the casino came to ohio, i

don't got to risk on the streets no more, worried about the police taking my money or somebody robbing me, i'm going to the horseshoe. >> i'm damn near platinum clear at the casino, got a rewards card. about $5200 i won and $12,000 in losses. >> but it's not gambling at the casino that landed him in jail. >> they say i allegedly robbed somebody coming out the casino. i don't know what they are talking about. >> he's accused of following a casino customer to his car and robbing him of $1800. he's pled not guilty and awaiting trial. following his arrest he was linked to an unsolved home invasion bringing his total charge count to 16, including

five counts of aggravated robbery and four counts of felonious assault. he has pled not guilty to the new charges as well. >> getting locked up so many times, you get sick and tired of being sick and tired and tired of going the same way. so i know what the bad life going to do. i know what the worst -- what the street life is going to get me. it's going to get me dead or in jail. let me see how this good life -- let me see what me trying to do it right going to do, give god a chance to work with me. coming up -- >> let's go. everybody got his face, this is him right here. >> ronald wells is dealt another losing hand. >> then -- >> there's a lot of people in here that want your job. >> a shank is discovered in the kitchen and staff must figure out who made it and why.

at the cuyahoga correction center in cleveland, some inmates are eligible for jailhouse jobs. these inmate workers are called trustees. >> i have about 75 kitchen trustees. probably about 15, 16 sanitation and eight barbers and out of 2300 inmates, it is a privilege. >> they are not paid for their labor but rewarded with time out of their cells and extra food and possibly time off their sentences. >> it is all to the discretion of the judge. we have a lot of individuals who are sentenced to 180 days and get 90 days off. >> correctional staff assigned to the kitchen are out -- by trustees 10-1 but now that trust is broken.

staff have confiscated a home made weapon or shank. >> you guys are trustees, that means you're supposed to be trustworthy much more so than the regular inmate. but i'm not going to have one of my officers or staff around here getting stabbed or one of you getting stabbed. >> the kitchen is very dangerous place to work. we have all kind of items that can be utilized as weapons, this pallet is dry rotted and it could be pulled off. it's that simple. i have somebody that said it was them? somebody better speak up. nobody? all right. >> as officers search for any other weapons hidden in the kitchen, sergeant daniels orders the removal of all empty pallets. >> we're always on guard.

you have to expect the unexpected. >> the trustees maintaining their silence, sergeant daniels makes it clear it could cost them. >> we'll flip this whole place own and everybody go to general population. there's a lot of people in here that want your job. >> eventually several trustees come forward to implicate one of their own. james dean, serving a 90 day sentence for a probation violation and assault conviction. >> it all started chiming in and everybody pointed to this particular person. he's still innocent until proven guilty. so we have jail investigators that will go up and do their investigation and determine whether or not he's guilty. okay, but he's already locked up, put him in security segregation, he's denying everything, of course. >> never in my possession. >> staff want to question a second inmate. >> what's your name? valentine --

>> though gary valentine found the shank and attempted to dispose it, he said it wasn't his. >> as i was going through an old box it look tattered and looked to be a piece of plastic. we have a lot of broken pallets and do tie saran wrap, but that particular day it was more than it appeared. >> step in and step all the way to the back wall. >> valentine is also placed in confinement but believes he has a solid defense since he was with an officer when he found the shank. >> i don't see how you can charge me with something, i had a staff member next to me an we discovered it at the same time. it would be asinine for me to put it there and say, look what i found, come on.

if i had anything to do with it, smart money would have been to leave it alone. when we got back to the pod, people said explain what it was used for and be done with it. >> was that a particular person? >> yes, it was. >> can you tell me who that person was? >> they did their investigation, i'm pretty sure they got the guy. >> dean says he knows exactly why the other inmates blamed him for the shank. >> i had everybody screaming at me, go ahead and take the fall for it because you're about to go home in a few days. we don't want to see everybody get fired. i'm not taking the blame for something i have no acknowledgement of. they said they are all going to snitch on me and say my name.

i'm not dumb, i have 17 days and i go home to my children and wife, back to my job and that's freedom. why would i do anything to jeopardize my freedom like that? i said absolutely not. what it is, they are trying to get me jammed up. >> coming up -- >> what is your knowledge about the shank? >> valentine and dean undergo interrogation. then -- >> we have enough right now to lock you down so tight in here you'll forget how to write letters and talk on the phone. i'm giving you an opportunity right now. >> things heat up for ronald wells.

fellows, go right to work. >> inmate workers or trust tees are on duty on the cuyahoga county correctional center. but two of them, james dean and gary valentine are locked up in security segregation as the jail continues to investigate who's responsible for the shank recently discovered among boxes in the kitchen. >> it happened to be a piece of wood that fell off a pallet that was modified.

once they change it by wrapping shrink wraparound it for the purpose of holding it it becomes a weapon. things like this is not tolerated. this could be sticking in one of my officer's neck and i'm not tolerating that. >> now it's up to officer may, one of the investigators to find answers. she will interview both suspects, starting with james dean. >> hey, mr. dean. >> dean is only two weeks away from completing his sentence. but his release will be jeopardized if the jail discovers he's responsible for the shank and choose to file new criminal charges. >> what do you know about the weapon? >> i didn't know anything about it. >> why were you back there opening boxes? >> i wasn't back there opening boxes the only time i went back down when i was stocking freezer and i was asked to go help. >> who asked you? >> a c.o. i had an inmate that's incarcerated with me in there, gary valentine, he's the one

that found it and didn't think of it and tried to throw it away and the officer asked what it was and that's when it was discovered. >> how long have you been a kitchen trustee? >> roughly 70 days. >> have you had any problems down there? >> no, ma'am, i have not been any problems or any lockup, this is my first time to the hole. >> anything else you would like to tell me. >> i wouldn't jeopardize myself to have anything in my possession or in my room or anything because i know what will happen about it. i'm going home this month, i'm not trying to jeopardize that, i have three kids and a wife. i'm not jeopardizing that whatsoever. >> have a good day. >> you too. >> i tend to believe him, that shank was not his and i do believe when he said that a couple of the inmates told him, you know, to say that it was his because they do do that, they'll

find one person to say, well, you go ahead and say you did it and in their case, if he took the rap, then none of the other trustees would get fired. >> officer may will next speak to the other suspect, gary valentine. >> what is your knowledge about the shank? >> the only thing i was doing straightening up the shelf and the officer was standing next to me when it was found. >> officer merrick was with you when you found it? >> absolutely. >> do you know mr. james dean? >> just met him when i got on the pod. >> do you have any issues with him? >> absolutely not. >> see him have issues with anybody? >> no, i've been in the kitchen every time they come here, i don't need to make a shank or participate in anybody who makes one. i understand that the rules -- like i'm being penalized for doing the right thing. >> we want to get everything squared away.

okay, i'll be in touch. >> thank you. >> i know somebody had it there for a reason. what that reason is, i don't know. and who put it there, i don't know. >> one investigation continues, another is about to begin. >> received this letter in the mail from an unknown person actually. inmate that is referring to inmate ronald wells and what the letter talks about is that he's maybe planning an escape. this inmate is in here at this point in time for a robbery. the robbery took place over at the horseshoe casino. >> the individual who wrote claims that they are ronald's family and they are scared to death of him. love him to death but afraid of them. >> did you listen to phone

calls? >> that's the other thing because they indicate in the letter that he's talking in codes and things like that on the phone. one of the investigators can listen and see what we get with that. all right. >> what you all doing? >> all inmate phone calls are recorded and it doesn't take long for the officer to find a suspicious conversation between wells and his girlfriend. >> they come get me to your pontiac. babe, come get me. >> i'm about to break out this bitch. >> the jail will take no chances. >> special emergency response team has been activated to secure him. >> we're going to jail 2, we're going to be looking for ronald wells. he might be planning to escape. we'll put the pod on the floor and everybody will be secured.

corporal mccleland will key in the inmate and then once everything is secure. we're not explaining stuff to these guys, get them up and out. good? >> yes, sir. >> suit up. let's go. everybody has got his face, you know what he looks like. this is him right here. >> everybody look at the picture over here, make sure -- >> sert, left -- coming up -- >> go, go, go. >> the special response team pays a visit to ronald wells. >> there's video footage of you admitting that you swung at the officer. >> lawrence silk attempts to mound a defense.

due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >> an anonymous letter and recorded phone call have led officials at cuyahoga county correction center to believe that a violent inmate could be plotting an cape. >> they come get me i'm going to break out this bitch.

>> the inmate is ronald wells currently awaiting trial for robbing a casino customer of his winnings and as well as a separate home invasion robbery. >> corporal mcleland, once we get everybody secured, we're going to get the inmate. now the jail special emergency response team will make a dynamic entry, isolate him from the others and remove him for questioning. >> go, go, go! >> face down! to the ground!

>> in the turmoil of the team's arrival, corporal mcleland removes him from the unit. >> there's a reason for this and i think you know why it is. but i'm not going to lead you to the water and make you drink it either. >> all right, i'm trying to think because i ain't do nothing, don't talk to nobody, talk on the phone. i'm not going to talk to you. i want you to talk to me. >> wells is placed in a holding cell and corporal mcleland will conduct a strip search and question him. >> go to the left and walk all the way around. >> meanwhile, the special response team corralled the rest of the inmates to conduct individual searches. >> we're going to pat you down. follow their instructions.

>> they are looking for any evidence of collusion with wells. >> i'm going to get to the bottom of all of this anyway, i'm trying to be fair. unless you wanted to be locked down tighter than anybody else in the whole building, i suggest you begin to tell me your story. if you don't want to tell me your story, then fine. >> i've been here a week. on the phone talked to my girl but -- >> now you remember, don't you? >> man, come on, man. corp. you know -- i am thinking it over, they talk. >> they talk and the wrong people listen. >> i would never -- come on, man. >> man, i did some goofy stuff on the phone. i said a lot of [ bleep ], man. man, i said some stupid [ bleep ] that i ain't going to

say. i told my girl, you're going to break me out this bitch, come get me out this bitch man. corp -- >> i would really love to hear the whole stories. you're trying to dress -- >> i ain't not being -- >> very [ bleep ] right now but i want you to be honest with the whole story. >> i'm being honest with the whole story. >> there's more to that little story than you're telling me. >> no, it ain't. >> it wasn't nothing serious, i swear to god. >> i was talking to a female on the phone. >> that's your story? i'm giving you a chance right now, i'm being fair with you because basically you're not telling me your story, we have enough right now to lock you down so tight in here you'll forget how to write letters and

talk on the phone. your meals are going to be altered. i'm giving you the opportunity. >> i don't want that to happen because [ bleep ] i'm telling you the truth. i said some stupid [ bleep ] on the phone. but come on, man, you can read how i said it on the phone it wasn't nothing serious, it wasn't even like it was full of details. >> relax. >> don't leave me in this hole. >> we haven't decided in your fate yet. i'm getting your story right now and then we'll reconvene and talk about ronald wells and we'll decide your fate. okay? but we take stuff like that serious. >> i know what you [ bleep ] talking to see -- >> give you free advice in the future, be careful, okay. cross your fingers and cross your toes, you might get out of this. okay?

>> no begging and pleading now. you let me finish my job. >> as corporal leaves to file his report, wells has time to contemplate the consequences of his actions. >> i'm tired of being messed up. i always mess up and for people watching this, i want them to know, this ain't what you want to do. this ain't -- this has been a career for me and sometimes you get sick and tired of being sick and tired. these ain't fake tears, they are real tears. i don't want nobody to feel sympathy for me. you know, like, i found myself. i know me and know i ain't a perfect dude and i'm just tired. i've got a daughter. i've got a family and all of them don't want to be seeing me

in here in and out of these jails. i was talking to myself in the mirror when i came here and i was like, where are you going to be tired? when is enough going to be enough? >> lawrence silk might be asking the same question. he's currently awaiting transfer to prison to begin a 10-month sentence on charges including aggravated theft. proving to be painful. >> it burns! oh, my god it burns! >> he's in security segregation for swinging at an officer. >> do you hear me? this is not a game. they got me in here for no reason. oh, my god, man. >> he must answer to the jail's disciplinary board. >> how are you doing? >> how are you?

>> though silk appears unwilling to respond, the hearing continues. >> you pleaded not guilty to the jail investigator for those charges that i read you. do you want to change your plea to any of those charges? >> no. >> you want to plead you're not guilty? >> yes. >> there's video footage of you admitting that you swung at the officer. >> why did you -- >> i didn't mean to. i was like. >> why? >> i was angry. >> you stated you were mad because you were placed in lockup and that you were happy that you did not hit him in the face. do you remember that? >> yes, i remember that. >> do you take any type of medication? >> yes i do. >> what do you take? >> nothing at the time. >> is that because you're refusing? >> i haven't seen a doctor. >> if we make you an appointment, would you be willing to go? >> no. >> you'll continue to act like this. >> yes.

>> we're offering you help and you're refusing, your behavior, you're going to continue acting out the way you are so, you don't seem remorseful for anything you've done. all right, so that's it. any other questions. >> you'll hear something later today. have a good day. >> as silk is escorted back to the cell, officer henderson attempts to reason with him. >> you want to get help. don't want to keep getting in altercations and all of that stuff. you know what i'm saying? you know as well as i know that this medication is going to help you. going to go through this door over here. >> the disciplinary board comes to a quick decision. >> the board has found inmate silk guilty of all charges and recommending 60 days in disciplinary isolation. >> back in the isolation of the

segregation cell, silk does have someone he can confide in. >> what's up, dude? this is crazy. his neighbor is gary valentine, who's in segregation pending a shank that belonged to him. >> the hole goes all the way through and i've been talking through that hole -- >> it's kind of hard the things i've been through and seen -- >> you're the only one that can change that, nobody else. come on, i've got a 22-year-old son, he ain't never been in trouble a day in his life. i'm grateful. >> i'm stuck in this lifestyle and another part of me wants to do positive and go back to school and go to college. >> it's no too late bro. >> tell me i'm be charged with possession of a weapon i didn't even have in my possession but i'm going to get charged for it.

>> other inmates press james dean to confess. and -- >> i've got to be out there to be able to talk to my mom and my relatives. >> ronald wells struggles to cope with life in segregation.

good dinner tonight, mashed potatoes, gravy. >> cuyahoga county correction center inmate james dean realizes he shares his name with a hollywood icon that lived fast and died young. he insists he is not a rebel, he is specially when it comes to having a shank in jail. >> tell me i'm charged with possession of a weapon that i didn't even have possession ever. >> man up.

>> dean is only two weeks from completing his sentence. but his release will be jeopardized if the jail finds him responsible for the shank. the decision will rest largely with the results of the disciplinary hearing. >> do you want to give your explanation on what's going on? >> go ahead. >> let me start off by saying i'm a kitchen trustee and my job is to clean of kitchen front to wall, ceiling to floor. when cos ask, i help in the stock room. this piece of wood as you refer to as a shank was found in the stock room about an inmate gary valentine in front of co staff in of the kitchen. at the end of the day we was briefed about them finding it and said someone need to fess up or the whole kitchen will turn around and be fired. on the way to the pod, inmates started to scream take the time, dean, you only have little time

left. no, i'm not, nor did i use it ever. i would never jeopardize your trustee job or my release date over a piece of wood that looks like a shank. >> but the officer disputes dean's claims that he is only in the stockroom under staff supervision. >> there was several times back there during a meal you tried to pop there for some reason. you saw me sometimes you stopped in your tracks and would turn around and go away or make an excuse. i need a mop, i need a broom. >> that's when i would go back there. no other reason, maybe to get some food or something to eat. >> we may look into this a little further and then we'll come to a conclusion, recommendation. okay? >> yes, sir. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> while the officers

deliberate, dean is taken back to his cell in segregation. later, officer may comes to his cell to deliver their verdict. >> i wanted to let you know you are a do not return to the kitchen and the warden gave you 15 days for the major disruptive conduct. he threw out the -- we all threw out the charge of possession of a weapon. so you can rest easy on that. >> the ruling means decent will spend final days at cuyahoga county in segregation for not being truthful but not entering the stock room unsupervised but not face charges for the shank. >> thank you very much and i appreciate it. >> you're welcome. >> mr. henderson, thank you, sir, i appreciate that. >> i'm excited. i'm excited to have this finally done and over with and -- they found me guilty of major disruptive conduct which i don't

understand that but i'm not going to sit there and question it, my out date is the 19th. i'm going to go. i'm happy. >> thank you so much. >> take care. >> rest easy. >> for dean, time in segregation is a small sacrifice for going home as scheduled. ronald wells, however, is facing serious robbery and home invasion charges and could have a long stay here as his case works it way through the courts. >> i've got to be out there to talk to my mom and relatives and all of that. by me being in the hole, as you can see, like, i can't do none of that, like nothing works in my favor. >> wells problems began when jail officials received a letter claimed to be from a family member warning that wells was planning an escape. when they listen back to the

phone call, the suspicions grew deeper. wells insists, he was only joking. >> he was very upset because i feel like they knew if he was serious or not. they know what was really going on and ain't going on. for them to barge in a room like that -- and make that situation that serious, i think that that was like way kind of absurd. >> wells thinks because he is accused of robbing patrons at the horseshoe casino, his case puts him in a negative light. >> they want to make sure they set examples and don't want tourists and people to come to cleveland ohio and join a good time at a casino. >> investigator may says the jail can't afford to treat talk of escape as a joke. >> there are two things that we

take really seriously, escape is one of them and suicide is the other. so the necessary precautions we have to act on them immediately. >> even if it's in a joking manner, you never know. >> in the course of his investigation, sergeant christopher interviewed wells' mother who said she had no knowledge of the letter. >> she didn't have information from other family members that indicated they would have written such a letter. and she also said that she didn't believe anybody in her family would have written that type of a letter. so the mother said that he does have a lot of enemies on the street. >> he also spoke with wells girlfriend about the incriminating phone call. >> she did not remember wells making that statement, said if he did make that type of statement, it may have been am a joking manner. it did appear it was a joking fashion, didn't seem to be a valid type of escape threat. >> so we're clear with that, done with that as an

investigation. >> tuck your shirt in. >> though wells is cleared of escape charges, he won't be taken back to his original housing unit, rather he'll be kept in a smaller unit where inmates can be better monitored and for wells, that's good enough. >> feel good. feel good. good to be out of the hole and come home, getting released. escaping from the county jail, it ain't going to happen at all. definitely not by me. i won't even say that on the phone. i'm going to tell my girl, we can't talk like that no more. >> what's up, baby? oh, man. my lawyer called you and told you? >> so for the youngsters watching, this ain't what you

want to do every day, what you want to go through. what you see is what you get. coming up -- >> i'm excited. i'm not going to jump from joy until they cut the band off. then i'll be happy. >> james dean prepares for freedom.

gentlemen, make sure your bunks are made. >> the cuyahoga county correction center is a weigh station for inmates. some head home after serving short sentences or being acquitted of the charges. others ship off to state prison following their convictions. and sometimes, a state prison inmate returns to the jail for appeals or other court proceedings before returning to what some call the parent institution. >> the worst statement i ever heard when i first started was

i'm here for six months, i can't wait to get back to my parent institution. i said, what is a parent institution? he explained it to me, i thought, wow, they are really stuck on being incarcerated and they are the luxuries and comforts of i guess home. that blows my mind. when they said that i i got home and hugged my mom and dad and said wow. >> lawrence silk's event stay at the jail has come to an end. he was just put on a bus headed for the state prison that will now become his parent institution. >> silk rolled out this morning, i transported him down to classifications. he said he wants to get his life together. this is his last trip. wants to get his g.e.d. and education and looking to do something when he gets out, try to do something.

>> silk's former neighbor, gary valentine is only ten days from finishing his sentence for failure to pay child support. he will spend much of that time hard at work in the jail's kitchen. after he found a shank several days earlier, staff placed him in segregation until they were convinced it didn't actually belong to valentine. >> after investigation i was found to not have any involvement i guess. get interviewed and after that you don't know what the hell is going on. makes it easy to finish my last ten days out. >> james dean has vowed to never return to jail and just moments away from his latest shot to make good on that promise.

>> i am excited. i'm not going to jump with joy until they cut the band on and walk out the doors. then i'll be happy. long process, i'm ready to get out of here, man, this is killing me. >> the process of leaving jail is not a quick one. >> thank you. >> just as jail staff can take no risks when it comes to inmates joking about escape, they also can't risk releasing the wrong inmate. >> when it comes time for you to be released out of here, not only do we have ask questions to make sure we have the right person as far as dates of birth and socials, we do a retina scan also to make sure we have the right person that we're supposed to be releasing and should coincide with the paperwork we have. >> look in to the mirror. thank you for your cooperation. >> beautiful, sir, take all of your stuff and see that officer there.

>> need your arm band, sir. >> man, that's a relief. >> there's your property, remain sealed until you get downstairs, okay? >> yes, sir. >> thank you and good luck. >> thank you. >> what's going on, man? >> yeah, freedom again, baby. ♪ >> so long.

due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. >> arrested by a s.w.a.t. team, an out-of-control young inmate creates chaos in the booking department. >> i need medical clearance and an ekg. >> mental health staff must determine if his behavior is a result of psychoses, drugs, or something else.