911 call shows chaos at Bon Air youth jail

A jailbreak of sorts had occurred: 11 minors had gained free reign of their unit and had begun screaming, throwing things and starting fires, according to a 911 transcript of events. The sole guard on duty in the unit had barricaded herself in an office and called police.

“16 in the unit and 10 on the floor that they are aware of,” reads a transcript of the 911 call. “10 aggressive boys out of the cells … staff being held hostage. They have set a fire in the unit now, fire has been set.”

That evening, the Virginia State Police announced that they had resolved an “incident” at the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center. According to the call transcript, that incident was a minor hostage situation that required a snap reaction from police armed with pepperball guns.

The Bon Air detention center is run by the Department of Juvenile Justice, which said that no staff were ultimately harmed. According to the call, the youths were back in custody approximately a half-hour after the jail called for police backup.

During that half-hour, however, the agency said it struggled to control “11 noncompliant and potentially violent youth.” Chesterfield police spokesperson Liz Caroon said that police used pepperball guns as part of that effort.

No investigation into the incident has yet been released. But in the 911 call, which began around 4:26 p.m., police dispatchers said that “one of them got out of the tray slot.”

“They are yelling and screaming now … It is a lot of commotion but still can’t see them … they are jumping all around … [they] know [police] are here and are prepping for them to come inside … saying its their Superbowl and they are going to win,” reads the disjointed transcript from dispatchers.

Security staff could not see into the unit because the youths had covered up the facility’s security cameras. Meanwhile, the sole staff member barricaded in the unit had put “a desk or file cabinet in front of the door” while on the phone with police.

"There is one single guard in the unit but she has locked herself in the office," dispatch said. "The staff member has barricaded herself in the office so they can't get to her."

It is not clear exactly how many security staff were working that afternoon. The Deparment of Juvenile Justice said it could not share that information.

At around 5:02 p.m., dispatchers said the situation was under control – that everyone was in custody and the fire had been put out, although the building was full of smoke. 

“The situation was quickly brought under control and remains under investigation,” said the Department of Juvenile Justice in a news release issued the next day.

A spokesperson for the agency said the jail deals with “a very challenging population with high rehabilitative needs.”

The detention center houses around 170 youths, some of whom are incarcerated there due to murder charges. 

“Occasionally, some of the behavior exhibited in the community repeats itself in the facility. This is to be expected through the therapeutic process, and we support and thank the dedicated staff who invest in this high need population,” said Melodie Martin, the agency’s spokesperson.

Martin said the agency was handicapped by a 2014 state law that bars staff at the youth jail from using chemical agents on their wards. Because of that rule, the agency made the decision to call external police agencies, Martin said.

“The decision stemmed from compliance with procedural and regulatory constraints that prohibit agency and facility personnel from using the tools necessary to engage and bring under control 11 noncompliant and potentially violent youth without endangering staff and residents and without compromising safety in other units,” said Martin.

The facility had 23 calls to outside police agencies in 2024, more than double the number of 911 calls made the year prior.

Dispatch logs suggest the facility is frequently reaching out for help.

Four days prior to the barricade incident, a staff member was assaulted and required attention at the facility’s nurses station. On Jan. 15, dispatch reported another assault, this time for a staff member who was hit in the head by a resident. On Jan. 12, a resident set a cell on fire, again requiring outside police to respond to the jail.

In the spring of 2024, a criminal justice consultant group identified critically low staffing shortages at the youth jail. As a result, the facility had to redesign nearly all of its programming to work with fewer staff.

“Residents are restricted almost entirely to living units and report high levels of idleness and boredom,” the report states.

Reform advocates believe there is a case for shutting down the facility. As the state’s sole juvenile detention center, it houses a number of children who aren’t from Richmond and live more than an hour away, which is believed to hamper a meaningful rehabilitation for kids in custody.

And in 2021, the oversight agency for the General Assembly recommended downsizing the facility in favor of smaller facilities across the state.

“Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center is not ideal for effective rehabilitative programming for several reasons: its size, its distance from youths’ home communities, and its lack of appropriately designed treatment space,” reads the report from the Joint Legislative Audit Review Community.

Martin said tries its best to steer the children at the detention center towards future success. Youths who come to the facility avoid alternatives that “are often much more severe,” she said.

“Engaging juveniles with dignity and respect can achieve life-changing positive outcomes,” Martin said. "[The Department's] goal is always to provide the best rehabilitative care possible."