Jail officials fined for not moving mentally ill inmate

NORTH PRINCE GEORGE, Va. (AP) — A recently retired Virginia jail superintendent and another official have been convicted of contempt of court for failing to obey a judge’s order to transfer a mentally ill inmate to a hospital.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Circuit Judge Lynn S. Brice found Col. Jeffrey Newton and Maj. Douglas Upshaw in clear violation of her Oct. 26 order regarding Brandi Leah Gonzales.

Gonzales was transferred from Riverside Regional Jail to Central State Hospital nearly seven weeks after Brice issued the order.

Riverside attorney William Hefty said neither official was aware Gonzales hadn’t been transferred, blaming the mix-up on a records clerk at the jail.

Brice said the ultimate responsibility lay with the jail’s leaders, and fined the men $100 each.

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Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.richmond.com