PORTAGE COUNTY, Ohio — On Friday evening, a fight that is being described as an "all out brawl" by authorities broke out at the Portage-Geauga County Juvenile Detention Center (JDC), according to the Portage County Sheriff's Office.
Around 8:50 p.m., deputies received a call from the JDC reporting a fight that had broken out involving an unknown amount of individuals.
Once on scene, deputies discovered seven young people were involved in the fight. Deputies said that when the Correction Staff ordered the seven individuals to return to their units, three did so while four others caused "severe damage" to the housing pod, authorities said.
Of the four young people causing damage in the JDC, three tried to escape their "pod area," with two of them successful in their attempts.
The building was then secured by the Portage County Sheriff's Office, the Ravenna Police Department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
A search of the JDC found the two individuals who had escaped the "pod area," and deputies said they caused additional damage in the building, taking fire extinguishers and using them to attempt to gain access to the JDC's "Central Control" area while also using the foam from the extinguishers to cover windows so there were no visuals from the outside.
Following the incident, four of the young people at the JDC had 28 felony charges filed against them, including aggravated riot, assault, escape, aiding escape, resisting to lawful authority, vandalism, possession of criminal tools, and disrupting public services.
