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Inmates say monsoon storm caused terrible prison conditions

Inmates of LaSalle's San Luis Regional Detention Center speak on what they went through without electricity - News 11's Vanessa Gongora reports

SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The monsoon storms this week even affected prisons in San Luis.

One inmate at the San Luis Regional Detention Center, Trevor Cartee, says they were treated poorly when the electricity went out due to the storm.

"We had no portable AC's. We had no fans coming in here," says Cartee. "We had no swamp coolers, nothing."

One of the guards confirmed for us off camera that it was very hot inside for two days and says this is the first time something like this has happened.

Cartee says he tracked everything by writing it all down.

"Power got shut off at 7 p.m. down there on August 10th. Electricity came on at 5:35 August 12th but the AC was still turned off," says Cartee. "The AC didn't come on until about 8:00 yesterday last night."

Inmate Jonathan Franco says it was so humid that the floors were wet and when he asked if they could get yard time to get fresh air, the request was denied.

According to Franco, his roommate even had to go to the hospital after going to medical twice.

"We don't have any air circulation so people were in here having a hard time breathing," explains Franco. "One guy ended up in the hospital. He hasn't even came back yet."

Cartee and Franco said when they tried to reach their families and the media for help, their phones got turned off.

"Sergeant Reyes turned the phones off and then the CO Mejia, one of the CO's, he was the one that told us it was just us that got turned off for trying to contact the news and our family for help," says Cartee.

Franco's wife Karla Quintero says she was worried when she didn't hear from her husband.

"I was even wondering why didn't I hear from him from last night," says Quintero. "I was thinking I hope he didn't get in trouble, or a fight. I hope he's okay."

As of now, the prison is denying allegations.

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Vanessa Gongora

Vanessa Gongora joined the KYMA team in 2022 and is the anchor/producer for CBS at 4 p.m.

You can contact her with story ideas at vanessa.gongora@kecytv.com

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