Farmington jail inmates riot amid demands for more coronavirus testing

FARMINGTON — A riot at a northwestern New Mexico jail sparked by demands for more COVID-19 testing and hot meals left one inmate injured and damage to the jail, officials said.

The disturbance at the San Juan County Adult Detention in Farmington began Monday after 35 inmates — armed with shards of porcelain from broken toilets — barricaded themselves and started a fire, according to authorities.

Investigators said inmates also wrapped books and magazines around their torsos as makeshift body armor and used a bunk as a battering ram before the riot was put down by multiple agencies called to the scene. One injured inmate was taken to a nearby hospital, authorities said. His injuries are unknown.

According to San Juan County authorities, inmates started demanding Sunday afternoon to speak to an administrator about their concerns for more hot meals and more novel coronavirus tests. County spokesman Devin Neeley said inmates have been receiving only one hot meal a day due to a lack of available detainees to cook the meals.

“Detention Center staff are currently following New Mexico Department of Health guidance for testing,” the county said in a statement. “Only detainees who have previously tested negative are being retested.”

However, there is no provision in the state’s notification system for informing people who are in custody of test results.

Officials said there were 345 people in custody at the San Juan County jail Monday, and 147 have tested positive for coronavirus. The positive detainees have been quarantined in five pods.

The jail is near the Navajo Nation, where the coronavirus has especially hit residents hard with more than 8,000 cases.