Counselor Dies After Attack by 2 in Escape Attempt

A juvenile detention center counselor who was bludgeoned with a metal table leg during an attempted escape died early Tuesday as a result of his injuries, authorities said.

Arnold Garcia, 58, of Los Angeles died at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he had been on life support since Monday night, sheriff’s Deputy George Ducoulombier said.

Authorities said Garcia was jumped shortly after 1 a.m. Monday, when a teen-ager knocked on his door at the Dorothy Kirby Juvenile Detention Center in the City of Commerce and asked to use the bathroom. The youth then beat Garcia unconscious before fleeing with another teen-ager, police said.

The two runaways were captured shortly after the attack in a railroad yard not far from the facility. Detectives said they have denied committing the attack.

The youths are being held at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall for investigation of murder, Ducoulombier said.

The boys, ages 16 and 17, were being held at the detention center at the time of the attack for investigation of burglary and possession of a deadly weapon, sheriff’s deputies said. One youth was also being held for investigation of arson.

Authorities said the boys, whose names were not released because of their ages, had been planning to run away to Colorado. Center director Mary Dederick said staffers at the facility were unaware of any such plans before the escape attempt.

Dederick said the incident was the first such act of violence in more than 30 years at the facility. Operated by the county Probation Department, the highly regarded center is the county’s only locked treatment facility for emotionally disturbed teen-agers who have committed crimes.

About 100 youths, charged with crimes ranging from burglary to murder, receive schooling and daily therapy while they live in dormitories on a campus surrounded by a 13 1/2-foot wall.

The center--which has narrowly escaped closure several times in recent years as county supervisors have sought budget cuts--has been lauded for its low recidivism rates and intensive psychological treatment.

Garcia, a 17-year veteran of the Kirby center who was married and had children, was one of about 10 night staffers, each of whom was responsible for one or more of the 10 cottages on the center’s grounds. Dederick said each of the cottages can accommodate 10 residents, but would not say how many children were under Garcia’s watch. During the day, Dederick said, the level of supervision is higher, with about 15 staffers overseeing the center.

A former employee of the center said the facility is equipped with security monitors in case of emergency, but Dederick would not comment on how the attack occurred. She noted that another 16-year-old resident found help for Garcia.

Critics of the Probation Department’s handling of juvenile offenders have raised questions about staffing levels at the facility and the effect budget cuts might have had on the center’s security. But Dederick said it is unclear how the attack might have been prevented.