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Approximately 35 inmates from the Ottawa County Jail are being housed at the Washington County Detention Center in Bartlesville.

Washington County Sheriff Scott Owen said he got the call from Jeremy Floyd, the Ottawa County Sheriff, on Thursday evening, who said they needed help with housing the inmates. Sheriff Owen said the inmates were being temporarily held at the Rogers County Jail before finding their way to the Washington County Detention Center.

The Ottawa County Jail is being repaired. A fire occurred in the jail a few months ago and it required attention. The repairs are to keep the Ottawa County Jail in compliance with State of Oklahoma Jail standards and State of Oklahoma Fire Compliance measures.

Sheriff Owen said the Washington County Detention Center is graciously extending the offer to house the prisoners while the Ottawa County Jail goes through its repairs. He said they did the same thing for Nowata County in February 2019 when a gas leak needed to be fixed at the Nowata County Jail.

The only difference is the length of stay. Sheriff Owen said the inmates from the Ottawa County Jail could be out by Tuesday or Wednesday next week. During the Nowata County Jail incident in 2019, their 18 inmates stayed in the Washington County Detention Center for nearly two months.

Then, an inter-local agreement between Nowata County and Washington County was made. Sheriff Owen said he believed the final billing for Nowata County to house the inmates at the jail was approximately $14,000. The incarceration fee rate for Nowata County was $34. He said this same fee may be assessed to Ottawa County as well once an inter-local agreement is officially made.

Sheriff Owen and the Washington County Detention Center believed they would house the inmates on Thursday night, but that was not the case. He said with them coming in on Friday, it is one less day for them to house the inmates, which is fine. The WCDC was fully prepared, fully staffed and had everything set for the arrival of the 35 inmates without a hitch.

When Sheriff Floyd called on Thursday, the WCDC was holding approximately 153 inmates with a holding capacity of 240 inmates. With the addition of the 35 inmates, Sheriff Owen said they will be holding approximately 188 inmates in total. He said some inmates were released on Friday morning from the WCDC prior to the arrival of the new prisoners from Ottawa County, so that total might be a little bit lower than 188. Either way, the WCDC has the room and the new prisoners are not expected to stay long.

On Thursday, our news partners at the News on 6 reported that a litigation had been brought against the Ottawa County Jail for the death of 26-year-old Terral Ellis in 2015.

A video that was released is believed to show officers in the jail mocking Ellis while he called for help. He died from septic shock. When asked about this, Sheriff Owen said the moving of inmates and the litigation are independent incidents. He said from his understanding, Sheriff Floyd in Ottawa County is handling this situation that occurred under the watch of a completely different jail administration.