Murphy – Under health division orders to “depopulate” its detention center, Vance County sent 70 to 80 inmates to other counties earlier this month – including 13 to Cherokee County.
The inmates, mostly with Henderson addresses, have been charged or convicted on a variety of crimes, mostly drug- and theft-related.
The Cherokee County Detention Center was built oversized for local needs in order to provide space for federal prisoners and inmates from neighboring counties with capacity limitations. Lodging inmates for outside agencies is a major income source for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
Still, it’s unusual for Cherokee County to have such a large onslaught of inmates from another county at one time.
The N.C. Department of Health & Human Services’ Division of Health Service Regulation ordered the Vance County facility to “depopulate” after concluding that conditions at the detention facility there “jeopardize the safe custody, safety, health or welfare of the individuals incarcerated there.” Major issues were identified after an inspection in July 2024, which found inadequate staffing, deficient supervision practices, damaged cell doors, damaged pod doors, and cracked security glass.
Following an unspecified security breach at the facility on Jan. 1, another inspection found large holes in three cells, a hole in a perimeter fence, evidence of contraband and means to smuggle contraband, a cut padlock on a perimeter fence, a broken security door, inoperative security cameras, deficient security rounds by staff, and broken cell and pod doors.
Later inspections found even more deficiencies, including discovery that only 26 of the facility’s 62 jail cells could be locked. Conversely, one inmate was trapped inside a pod because the door could not be unlocked. Staff had to use a crowbar to free the inmate.
On March 17, the state ordered the Vance County Detention Center to “take immediate action to depopulate the facility to a reduced capacity number that the current staff can adequately supervise.”
The facility has 148 beds and had 141 inmates when the state took action. There were just nine filled detention positions out of the 30 or so needed to safety operate. The state authorized the facility to hold 20 inmates, with an additional 12 temporarily if necessary – a total of 32 in a facility designed for 148.
The Vance County Board of Commissioners held a special called meeting Monday to discuss new detention center deficiencies, construction proposals and repair recommendations.