Adelanto jail plan dead | Pitch fails to woo L.A. County Supervisors

ADELANTO — Mayor Pro Tem Jermaine Wright on Tuesday welcomed Los Angeles County Supervisors' rejection of a controversial jail plan that was touted by its developers as an injection into the city's lagging economy.

Supervisors rejected the plan to house more than 3,200 of their overflow inmate population at a proposed facility to be built in Adelanto, the Los Angeles Times reported. Former L.A. County District Attorney Steve Cooley made the pitch on behalf of developers Doc Crants and Buck Johns.

The plan promised to bring 1,250 jobs here and a $1.2 million annual bed tax to Adelanto's depressed general fund, but also had caught flak from residents who were against the idea, in part, due to concerns for public safety.

"I was always under the impression with the people I know from L.A. County that it wouldn't pass," Wright said. "Honestly, they needed to keep their jail down there where it belongs in L.A. We don't need their prisoners down here."

Wright has not been shy in voicing opposition to the plan. In July, he voted against giving Crants and Johns, who lead LCS Holdings, an extension from June 30 to the end of the year to secure a deal with L.A. County. The extension was granted by the City Council, 4-1.

Wright said Tuesday there were other avenues for the city to bring in revenue, insisting that officials should focus on stores and industries like manufacturing, "some sort of other business instead of jailing people."

In December, the Council approved the jail plan. It was conditional on LCS purchasing, within 180 days, the property for the site, which sat on 125 acres of land on the northeast corner of Violet and Emerald roads. But the purchase was contingent on L.A. County officials agreeing to house their overflow inmate population there, which now seems like a pipe dream.

Johns admitted Tuesday that any chance of building a jail for L.A. County was dead for all intents and purposes.

"We will look at other options," he said. "I just don't see us being able to put anything together with L.A. County."

He said the plan, five years in the works, had been hyper-focused on L.A. County, but the attractiveness of Adelanto's shovel-ready site — coupled with the city's need for revenue — could open up other possibilities.

Councilman John "Bug" Woodard said the Supervisors' decision was disappointing because of the economic gain the jail could have meant to Adelanto and the Victor Valley in general.

"It's really a blow to our city, because we really stood to benefit a lot," he said. "If it got defeated, it got defeated. But Adelanto's not defeated. We're on our way."

Two months ago, when requesting an extension in front of the Council, Crants acknowledged misjudging the amount of time it would take to get L.A. County on board.

"I think we're being well received," he said then. "Needless to say, (L.A. County) would rather handle the problem themselves, but the problem is enormous. And I think Adelanto will come to be a part of their solution."

Shea Johnson may be reached at 760-955-5368 or SJohnson@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DP_Shea.