Man incarcerated at Santa Clara County jail nearly beaten to death; 3 charged

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Friday, January 31, 2025
Man incarcerated at South Bay jail nearly beaten to death
An incarcerated man at Elmwood jail in Santa Clara County is on life support after being nearly beaten to death by three others at the facility.

MILPITAS, Calif. (KGO) -- Three incarcerated men in Santa Clara County have been charged with attempted murder after nearly beating another incarcerated individual to death at Elmwood Jail.

The man is on life support after being attacked.

Sheriff's deputies found the victim in his bed during a routine welfare check - unconscious and suffering from severe, life-threatening injuries.

William Armaline with the San Jose-Silicon Valley NAACP says staff anonymously reached out to let the NAACP know this attack lasted around 20 minutes.

"Twenty minutes, on camera, in the full view and public dormitory setting in the jail, again, is an eternity for something like this to occur," Armaline said.

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The victim was allegedly mistaken as a rival gang member before being brutally beaten.

Three men have been charged with attempted murder and torture and transferred to the Main Jail in San Jose.

Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg say the details are horrific.

"The attack was well and carefully planned during a transition of folks out of the barracks to lunch," Ellenberg said. "I have been told that the assault began in the bathroom where there are no cameras and continued."

It continued out into a large dormitory-style setting that's unique to the Elmwood Jail - compared to the more secure main county jail setting.

The NAACP and Supervisor Otto Lee want to know why the men and the victim were incarcerated at the same location.

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"We try to provide an open environment for individuals to recover and recuperate. That type of open-bay living is suitable only for individuals who have proven to be not related to these type of potential gangs."

This is not the first incident of violence at Elmwood.

And across Santa Clara County in 2024, in-custody deaths doubled.

Armaline says this highlights the need for criminal justice reform.

"There is a clear pattern at Elmwood and at our county jail facilities, of people being beaten, harmed, abused and there being a lack of response, slow response or no response," Armaline said.

The NAACP is demanding change so this never happens again as a full investigation, at many levels, continues.

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