4 juveniles charged, staff members injured in riot at Fairfield youth facility

Four juveniles are charged as adults in connection with what police described as a riot that caused significant damage at a Fairfield youth facility.

State Trooper Steve Limani said more charges are likely as police continue to examine surveillance video from Outside In School of Experiential Learning. The chaos started in a building there about 8:30 p.m. Saturday after a juvenile said something insulting to another, a staff member told police.

“The staff tried to intervene, and they turned then aggressively toward the staff,” Limani said.

There were a couple dozen juveniles involved in the fight. Police said three staff members were hurt.

Arrested were: Rockey Magar, 15; Lamont Warren, 15; Christian J. White, 15; and Faizon Way, 16. All four are charged with riot, aggravated assault, institutional vandalism, terroristic threats and causing catastrophe. Their addresses on court papers were listed as Outside In.

“These four people definitely seemed like they were the most aggressive, ringleader-ish types of the group,” Limani said.

Staff members described to police a chaotic scene with juveniles making weapons out of pencils, wooden handles and spoons while running and fighting in the halls.

White and Way are accused of threatening to kill a staff member who was hurt while trying to restrain others involved, police said. Way used a floor lamp as a weapon, while White wielded a pencil and a broken piece of glass, according to court papers.

Another staff member told police Way beat an employee in the ribs with a broken wooden broom handle. Magar is accused of punching a youth counselor in the jaw, while Warren swung a sharpened pencil at a staff member, according to court papers.

“When we got there, the kids didn’t really fight with law enforcement,” Limani said. “We just worked through to find out who the ringleaders were to get them out of there.”

Magar, Warren, White and Way were being held on $100,000 bail each. None had an attorney listed in online court records. Preliminary hearings are set for Jan. 17.

Outside In offers several youth programs including residential substance abuse treatment, residential juvenile justice and a school, in addition to outpatient services. Juveniles can be court-ordered there or it can act as a youth shelter, Limani said. A message left with the organization Monday was not returned. It was unclear from court papers why the four suspects were at the facility.

Limani estimated there were tens of thousands of dollars in damages left behind by the chaos. A fire extinguisher was discharged inside, the fire system was damaged and a urinal in the men’s restroom was shattered, police said in court papers. Limani indicated the facility is partially open.

Police said the argument was between juveniles in two cabins. Those cabins are licensed to work with as many as 12 juveniles each, according to state inspection reports. Both cabins were last inspected in August.