Two 18-year-olds in Weld County Jail after starting fight at Platte Valley Youth Services Center – Greeley Tribune

Two 18-year-olds are in Weld County Jail after police say they started a fight in the cafeteria at the Platte Valley Youth Services Center last month. A third youth was also involved in the fight but will not be charged as an adult.

Police arrested Jermaine Jackson and Luis Loya-Perez – both 18 – on Aug. 21. They said they started a fight with other inmates while walking through the dining hall, injuring a prison employee who tried to break up the fight, according to affidavits accompanying their arrests. Both are charged with second-degree assault on a prison employee and inciting a riot in a detention facility, according to Colorado court records.

Colorado state law allows juvenile offenders to continue serving their sentences in juvenile correctional facilities even after they reach adulthood.

Just before 6 p.m. on August 21, Greeley police were called to an assault at the juvenile detention center. When they arrived, police learned that a detention center employee had been injured in a fight between inmates.

According to police, several inmates began fighting in the dining hall while being transported from one unit to another. The three inmates who started the fight do not normally have contact with the other inmates, according to the affidavit, but began attacking other inmates while they were eating in the dining hall.

According to police, prison staff repeatedly ordered the three to stop fighting, but they ignored those orders and continued. When the prison staff member tried to break up the fight, he was repeatedly hit in the head, according to the affidavit.

Due to the fight, the canteen operations were suspended and the unit was cordoned off, police said.

Police reviewed footage of the fight and were able to identify Jackson, Loya-Perez and the third assailant, according to the affidavit. Police did not release the name of the third assailant because he is a minor.

According to the affidavit, the victim had a swollen left eyebrow and a half-dollar-sized abrasion. Police say these injuries are consistent with a blow to the face.

Both Jackson and Loya-Perez have deliberation hearings in Weld District Court on Wednesday.