Sheriff: 2 busted for smoking pot at jail

Two inmates in the Glenn County Jail are facing new charges after reportedly being busted for smoking pot in the exercise yard on Tuesday.

Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones said Saul Perez, 23, of Willows, who had been remanded to jail by the court on Jan. 20 for a probation violation, and William Lloyd Coats, 45 of Orland, in jail since July on assault charges, were caught in the act by Cpl. Greg Norwood.

Jones said Norwood, from his vantage point in the control tower, saw what looked like suspicious activity near the yard’s toilet.

Correctional officers, sent by Norwood to investigate, said they could smell the odor of burning marijuana, and a quick search of Perez – also known as Scrappy – reportedly turned up an undisclosed amount marijuana,

Jones said. A lighter was found wedged into a small crack in the wall near the toilet area.

Perez has been convicted previously for bringing a controlled substance into jail, and was rearrested on suspicion of the same crime on Tuesday.

He was also rearrested for another violation of his probation after his urine tested positive for the drug, Jones said.  

Bail on the fresh charges was set at $30,000.

Coats, who had been arrested by Orland police on July 7 on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, false imprisonment, inflicting corporal injury on a spouse and threatening a crime with the intent to terrorize, also reportedly tested positive for marijuana, Jones said. 

Coats, who was being held on a federal no-bail violation of probation by the U.S. Marshal’s Office, may be charged with an additional crime for testing positive for marijuana within the facility.

Jail commander Lt. James Miranda is heading the investigation of the smuggling of contraband into the facility. Recorded digital surveillance footage will be reviewed.

Coats and Perez have not been allowed outside since their bookings on the new charges, Jones said.