'Small riot' breaks out at jail

EPHRATA - Two prisoners at Grant County Jail refused to return to their cells Saturday, prompting corrections officers to call for backup and ultimately use pepper ball guns.

At about 7:30 p.m. Gilberto Valdovinos-Nadina, 22, Moses Lake, and Gilberto Murillo-Vera, 20, Wenatchee, were in a dorm area and would not return to their cells after repeatedly being asked to do so by officers, according to Grant County Jail Chief Deputy Joe Kriete.

The inmates, who Kreite believes were cellmates, began trying to hide themselves behind mattresses and using the bedding to block doors, he said.

The two corrections officers on duty called for assistance from other law enforcement agencies to help contain the "small riot," but canceled the request after a pepper ball gun was used to bring the inmates into compliance.

The two inmates were handcuffed and taken to a holding facility while the cell area was cleaned, Kreite said.

Having a non-compliance incident get to this level is uncommon at the jail, he said.

"We're on 23-hour lockdown so each prisoner is let out once a day for an hour," Kriete said. "When you only have two guys allowed out of their cells at a time, any riot's going to be pretty small."

Valdovinos-Nadina and Murillo-Vera will be sanctioned within the facility and may face criminal charges, Kriete said, although he did not yet know what those charges might be.