GOLDEN, Colo. — A 19-year-old man who was charged in connection to a riot that injured multiple staff members at a Golden youth center in January has pleaded guilty to an assault charge, court documents show.
Jaylin Coley, then 18, was arrested following the Jan. 3 incident at Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center. He was charged with four counts of first-degree assault, one count of actively participating in a riot in a detention facility and one count of attempted arson.
Coley pleaded guilty Monday to one count of second-degree assault. The other charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal, court documents show.
Law enforcement responded to the center at 2901 Ford St. around 8:25 p.m. on Jan. 3 because staff members reported that the inmates were "getting wild" and trying to "bust windows and kick down doors," an arrest affidavit said.
After conducting interviews and viewing security video, it was determined that a staff member noticed Coley and another inmate near a microwave which they appeared to be "guarding."
The staff member knew of another incident in a different building where a microwave was used to set off the fire alarm, which in turn unlocked the doors to individual rooms, the affidavit says. She believed Coley and the other inmate were attempting to do the same thing.
She approached the microwave and saw it was set for 10 minutes and attempted to stop it, but was initially "physically stopped" by Coley and the other inmate, who used their bodies to block her, the affidavit says.
Eventually, she got it open and discovered batteries inside that were wrapped inside a paper towel, according to the affidavit.
After that, the affidavit said, Coley and another inmate began throwing objects and fighting with staff members. Coley used a chair to break a hole in the glass big enough to fit through, allowing the two inmates to escape their pod and go to another pod, where they began fighting with another inmate, starting a larger disturbance, the affidavit says.
The other inmate also faced charges, the affidavit says, but their name was not released due to their age.
One staff member was taken to the hospital for evaluation of a head injury. Another was treated for multiple cuts from the broken glass. Another was taken to the hospital for treatment of a hand injury sustained while trying to get the fighting under control, the affidavit says.
Coley will be sentenced Sept. 26.
From March 2020: Nonprofit outlines 55 recommendations to improve Golden youth center
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