Riverside County’s jails have the highest homicide rate of all California’s large jails. Mostly bc of 3 murders in 4 months. We found the dept’s investigations of these deaths are riddled with inaccuracies including info sent to California’s DOJ:.

“Captain Williamson surmised that investigators likely deleted the video showing Schuck's cell and the door outside the camera's vantage point.”.

RT @Sammy_Roth: Ex-Palm Springs mayor Steve Pougnet pleads guilty to taking bribes via @chris_a_damien.

@Univision Many public statements by @ChadBianco about these deaths are inaccurate. That the dead had violent criminal histories when they didn’t. That they had shared cells peacefully for months when they hadn’t. And that deaths are “pending investigation” when they are not.

Particularly proud to get this in @Univision as well

In new videos and reports, deputies allowed a man to cover his cell camera and door before finding him hanging. 21 yo woman was ignored in the same jail, similarly taking her life by hanging. More evidence of neglect in one of the nation's deadliest jails:

Respectfully, Alicia's mother, Nichole Thompson, deserves the final word as reported: “It was their job to keep her safe,” Ms. Thompson said. “It was their job to monitor her. They didn’t care to do it.”.

Until then, Alicia's mother learned of painful details of her daughter's final moments from this story not from those responsible for keeping her alive until she could resolve her misdemeanor case.

Sheriff Bianco declined to comment for this story. The dept, Riverside County elected officials and state oversight agencies have a duty to provide an accurate public report on these deaths and ensure responsible parties are held accountable.

After the 2024 suicide, Capt. Alyssa Vernal wrote to jail staff: “It has become obvious we are not keeping house or following the rules we should be.” This even after the deadliest year on record and a decade old fed court remedial plan. .

And another suicide from earlier this year appears to reflect Upton's in disturbing ways. A man is said to have tried repeatedly to get guards to intervene in a suicide, but gave up after being ignored.

Two others died by suicide that year, as did a third who the dept claimed died by accident. Each shows a pattern of neglect, rules and standards being ignored and a trail of dept reports that omit critical facts from families and the public.

Among the disturbing details captured in jail surveillance video I reviewed for this story: Upton called jail guards on her cell's intercom and was hung up on. She died about 20 minutes later in full view of a camera that was supposed to be monitored by those same guards.

Upton left West Virginia at 19 on a road trip that landed her in Southern California. She loved it here. But she struggled, became houseless and landed in Riverside County jail as it was about to become the 2nd deadliest jail in the nation.

First off, suicide and mental health are difficult topics to write about and need to be approached with care and caution. Be advised this story discusses suicide in detail.

Alicia Upton, 21, was the first of 19 to die in Riverside County Sheriff's Department custody in 2022, the deadliest year on record for the dept. This is her story and the first public accounting of the lapses leading to her death.

RT @latimes: Riverside County: The deadliest year in one of America's deadliest jail systems

And don't miss the 2nd part, featuring a former cop who continued to receive his tax-free disability pension while serving time in prison for some serious crimes in Louisiana

Riverside and San Bernardino counties unfortunately feature prominently in this stellar investigation by @KateyRusch . Read up, keep the public informed.

This is absolutely unacceptable. Angelenos, Californians … everyone should be outraged by this.