Massachusetts

Five inmates charged in Bristol County jail uprising

The April 21, 2023, incident shut down the jail in Dartmouth for hours, but no one was hurt

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Five inmates have been charged following an uprising at Massachusetts' Bristol County House of Correction last April.

The five men are charged under correctional institutions; injury to property for their role in the protest on April 21, which broke out when inmates refused to leave their housing unit for facility renovations, the Bristol County Sheriff's Office said Friday. The incident shut down the jail in Dartmouth for hours, but no one was hurt.

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Hector Abreau Garcia, and Aaron Gagnon each face seven counts of injury to property. Shane Burnett, Norman Dias, and Jason Frasca each face one count.

The charges can carry a prison sentence of up to three years.

Around 75 inmates were in the housing unit though the sheriff's office said investigators believe only 15 to 20 of them were involved in the destruction. The five charged were the only ones seen on camera destroying correction department property.

Images of the aftermath released last year showed equipment smashed, beds flipped over, weapons fashioned, trash strewn about the facility.

The sheriff said he intends to eventually release the video surveillance that allegedly shows the inmates in the act, though not until it has been presented to a jury.


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