Six arrested after riot at Palm Beach County youth detention center

Employees reportedly grabbed while trying to return boy to his cell.

WEST PALM BEACH — A riot at a youth correctional facility last month ended with six boys facing even more criminal charges, Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office records show.

They reportedly grabbed employees during the melee who were trying to take another boy back to his cell at the Palm Beach Youth Academy near the South Florida Fairgrounds east of Royal Palm Beach.

Authorities arrived shortly before 9:30 p.m. Sept. 21 to find “multiple juveniles actively engaged in a fight as well as destroying property,” according to arrest reports. They reportedly were throwing chairs and flipping tables.

Some held chairs over their heads and threatened the employees if they approached them.

Those six boys, one of whom turned 18 in June, were arrested on charges of battery on detention center staff.

Cortez Thomas, 18, and Shy’Quon Davon Gary, 16, of Fort Myers are being held in the county’s main detention center, records show.

The state-owned facility operated by Sequel Youth and Family Services houses males ages 15 to 21 who are considered by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice to be high-risk and in need either of mental-health or substance-abuse treatment.

The facility, previously called the Palm Beach County Juvenile Correctional Facility, switched hands in 2016 after a slew of allegations involving deplorable living conditions, sexual abuse and violence surfaced.

The previous operator, Youth Services International, lost its seven contracts with the state that year.