A civilian contract tutor for incarcerated youth has been charged with multiple felonies for allegedly working with a teenage ward to smuggle Xanax into Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, while the ward has also been charged with a felony in the case, officials announced Thursday.
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Alejandro Lopez, 21, of Downey, an employee of the nonprofit organization Student Nest, is charged with one felony count each of bringing or sending a controlled substance into a juvenile hall or camp and possession for sale of a designated controlled substance, District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said.
It is also alleged that Lopez induced others to participate in the scheme.
Lopez pleaded not guilty during his arraignment Tuesday at the Downey Courthouse. His preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for July 15 at the Norwalk Courthouse.
During the hearing, the court denied prosecutors' request to set bail at $25,000, and Lopez was released on his own recognizance.
Orlando Cuevas, 18, of Long Beach was charged with one felony count of unlawful possession for sale of a designated controlled substance, and will be arraigned at a later date. Bail for Cuevas has been recommended at $25,000, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Hochman said that on Monday, investigators from the Los Angeles County Probation Department allegedly observed Lopez hand Cuevas an electrical tape-wrapped bundle containing nearly 170 Xanax pills.
If convicted as charged, Lopez and Cuevas face up to three years in state prison, prosecutors noted.
The case comes after felony charges were filed against county Deputy Probation Officer Michael Solis, who is accused of conspiring to bring alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax, into Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar in 2023, prosecutors said.
"Our juvenile facilities must remain secure, drug-free environments where young people have a real chance at rehabilitation," Hochman said in a statement Thursday. "That responsibility applies to everyone -- whether it's a contractor on the outside or a youth on the inside. Anyone who participates in smuggling narcotics into these facilities will be held accountable. We will not allow illegal drugs to threaten the safety of our institutions or the futures of those entrusted to our care."
On Wednesday, at least nine people, including one youth detainee, were taken to a hospital following exposure to an unknown substance at Los Padrinos.
Probation officials initially said authorities responded to a "suspected overdose and possible exposure to an unidentified substance" at the facility Wednesday morning. Downey fire and police also responded.
Early Wednesday afternoon, department spokeswoman Vicky Waters told City News Service several people were taken to hospitals, including one youth and eight staff members, due to the exposure. All of them, however, were "responsive and stable" at the hospital, she said.
It was unclear what type of substance was involved.
The facility was placed on lockdown while an investigation was conducted.
The situation unfolded just two days after Lopez was arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle drugs into the juvenile facility -- which has been plagued with operational issues since it reopened in 2023.
Los Padrinos has come under fire repeatedly since it was opened in 2023 to house youth transferred from two other facilities deemed unsuitable for youth detention. The Downey facility itself has been deemed unsuitable on multiple occasions by state regulators, and it continues to operate under an unsuitability declaration.
A judge in May approved a Probation Department plan to draw down the number of youth housed at the facility, which has myriad issues stemming mostly from short-staffing, along with concerns about detainees not being transported to classes or medical appointments.
In March, 30 county probation officers where hit with criminal charges stemming from allegations that so-called "gladiator fights" were being staged among the youth detainees while officers looked on.
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