New Branch County jail cell windows broken by inmates

BRANCH COUNTY — The new Branch County jail came with plastic totes for inmate storage — three inmates used them to break cell windows.

William Smith, 33, of Kendallville, Ind., pleaded guilty Monday, Jan. 30, to malicious destruction of jail property, a five-year felony. He used a plastic tote to smash out a cell window on August 21.

“These are pretty dangerous totes. I don’t recommend them in jail," Smith told Circuit Judge Bill O’Grady.

Of the three jails he has been lodged at, he said only Branch County had hard plastic totes for inmate possessions.

Sheriff John Pollack admitted, “the corners are pretty stiff.”

The sheriff said the totes were provided by the specialized company that prefabricated the cells put into the new $23 million building.

“These are the totes that came with the bunks for the new jail. Now that we are aware of this potential for damage, we have restricted issuing these totes.”

Smith is one of three inmates to use the totes to break out the interior windows since the new jail opened in December 2021. All were charged.

The windows are not cheap. Smith must pay restitution of $2,255 for the damage.

“We now do not issue these totes to any inmate we feel may potentially cause damage or who exhibits violent behavior," Sheriff Pollack said. "They are now issued a softer version.”

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All windows are interior. The facility does not have any outside access from the cell blocks. Cells are entirely contained inside a steel and concrete structure, an independent outside shell building.

— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DReidTDR.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: New Branch County jail cell windows broken by inmates