ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 16, 1996 TAG: 9611180058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
THE JUVENILE DETENTION home in Coyner Springs is being investigated after reports of assaults by its staff and the disappearance of cash and food.
Authorities are investigating reports of missing money and supplies at Roanoke's Juvenile Detention Home, as well as allegations that youths were assaulted by staff members at the facility.
Glenn Radcliffe, Roanoke's director of human development, confirmed Friday that he is awaiting the results of an investigation into reports of embezzlement at the Botetourt County facility, which serves as the Roanoke Valley's jail for juveniles.
A second investigation is also being conducted into reports that some staff members used excessive force in dealing with youths incarcerated in the home. Maj. J.L. Viar of the Roanoke Police Department said he was aware of one woman who has told police that her son was beaten while in the facility.
At least three other youths have made similar complaints in recent months, according to other law enforcement officials.
Radcliffe also confirmed that Melvin Morton, who had been the home's acting superintendent, no longer holds that position. Radcliffe would not say why Morton no longer has that job or whether he is still a city employee, calling it a ``personnel matter.''
Radcliffe declined to give the amount of money or supplies reported missing from the home, which is also known as the Coyner Springs Juvenile Detention Home. Other law enforcement officials said the investigation began after large amounts of food were taken in bulk from the home's cafeteria, and that there are also reports that money confiscated from juveniles as they enter the facility had been reported missing.
Botetourt County Commonwealth's Attorney Joel Branscom said Friday that he has been advised of the investigation and is waiting for the results before deciding what - if any - charges to bring.
Two Roanoke women, Norma Entsminger and Penny Jolly, said they have made complaints to the home about what they say was excessive force involving their sons.
Entsminger said her 14-year-old son, Nathan, suffered a broken elbow during a scuffle with two staff members in July. In an interview this week, Nathan Entsminger said the staff members became upset when another youth began stomping his feet on the door of a cell they shared.
After coming into the cell, the staff members ordered Entsminger to take off his shoes. They became angry when he tossed one of his shoes, the 14-year-old said, and one of them grabbed his arm and applied pressure to his elbow until it broke.
``I heard it pop, and I think they heard it too, because they just stopped and walked out the door,'' Entsminger said. ``I was lying on the floor crying, because it hurt.''
Jolly said she has filed a complaint with the home concerning her 17-year-old son, who she said was beaten by staff members after he tried to hang himself in his cell.
A third report of a youth being assaulted by staff members in recent weeks was reported to the Botetourt County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Reed Kelly said an investigation determined that the complaint was unfounded.
Radcliffe - who as director of human development supervises the home - said Friday that he was not aware of the recent complaints of abuse by staff members.
Because the detention home is owned and operated by Roanoke but situated in Botetourt County, there sometimes is confusion about which police agency should investigate complaints. ``The problem over the years is that we handle some of them and the city handles some of them,'' Kelly said.
That apparently is the case in the most recent investigations - with city police handling the complaints of excessive force and a regional task force that includes state police looking into the reports of embezzlement.
Radcliffe said that once city officials learned of the allegations of missing money, they asked that the regional task force be brought in to investigate because of the multiple jurisdictions involved.
In addition to the allegations under investigation, there have been other incidents at Coyner Springs over the past year that raise questions about the facility:
* This year, a part-time counselor was convicted of having sex with a 14-year-old girl he had met while she was being held at the facility. In September, a Botetourt County judge sentenced Cedric Lavender, 32, to 21/2 years in prison.
* Another Coyner Springs counselor was charged last year with distributing an imitation drug in Rockbridge County. The charge was dropped after an informant admitted on the witness stand that he fabricated the charge, according to Tony Anderson, a Roanoke lawyer who represented the employee. The employee was fired before his case came up in court, Anderson said.
* In a discrimination lawsuit filed last year, part-time counselor Julie Allie claimed that counselors who are male or black were given preferential treatment in work assignments. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Roanoke, was settled this year for an undisclosed amount.
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