An 18-year-old is facing felony charges after a premeditated riot broke out at the Kenai Peninsula Youth Facility Friday night.
Cody E. Rosenthal has been charged with second-degree theft, rioting and second-degree escape, all of which are felonies, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kenai. Six others were charged, but their case information is confidential because they are minors.
A sworn affidavit signed by Officer Levi Russell with Kenai police says the 10-bed facility was housing nine prisoners when seven “engaged in a plot to overtake the staff at the facility and escape.”
One of the prisoners put employee James Adcox in a chokehold, strangling him until he was unconscious, the affidavit says. Another prisoner unsuccessfully tried to put a second employee, Adam Mayberry, in a chokehold as well. When the attempt failed, other prisoners jumped in and assaulted Mayberry.
The prisoners were then able to snag a set of keys and five of them escaped through the main doors, Russell wrote. Two of the youth weren’t able to flee and “continued to assault staff while attempting to get another set of keys.”
Adcox regained consciousness and tried to restrain one of the prisoners assaulting Mayberry. The Kenai Police Department also responded and the two youth facility employees were hospitalized with “serious injuries,” the affidavit says.
KPD and Alaska State Troopers combed the area to find the five escaped prisoners. Three of them were spotted hiding in a dumpster near the ice skating rink off Rogers Road. One of the three was Rosenthal, who was being housed at the youth facility for multiple criminal charges, Russell wrote.
Rosenthal denied any involvement in the physical assaults, but did admit to helping plot the escape. He says he used the swiped keys to unlock the doors that led to the front lobby and to the facility’s main exit. After the group of five fled, they separated into two groups, the affidavit says.
Karen Forrest, director for the state’s Division of Juvenile Justice, says escapes and assaults are rare.
“In this case, having five youth involved and escape and having two staff injured is very unusual, and I don’t recall an incident like this, to this degree, occurring in the past,” Forrest said in an interview over the weekend.
Dedicated in 2003, the Kenai Peninsula Youth Facility is one of eight juvenile detention centers in the state, where the typical stay is usually less than 30 days, Forrest said. Those receiving long-term treatment stay for about a year.
At this stage, it’s too early so say if policy changes will be made, Forrest said.
“In terms of moving forward, it’s making sure that staff who have been injured have the services that they need,” she said. “Looking at the incident and making sure that we have all the safety and security measures in place.”