Staff shakeup announced at Augusta youth detention center

AUGUSTA - The assistant director of security at the Augusta Youth Detention Campus, Melvin Womble, has been dismissed, the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice announced Tuesday.

Womble who was named interim director when Ronald Brawner resigned in November was suspended with pay in December after a serious assault in the detention center that left a 19-year-old inmate hospitalized.

Officials say Womble was dismissed Monday because at the time of the assault, he was serving a yearlong probationary employment period for actions that led to five inmates escaping in October. The teens stole a car and led police on a high speed chase.

The department's commissioner, Avery Niles, said he plans to name a new director in early 2013.

``My strategy is to name an experienced correctional professional who will serve as the final link for an Augusta leadership team capable of taking on one of our greatest challenges in Georgia's juvenile justice system,'' he said in a release.

The department of juvenile justice Tuesday also announced that two leadership positions at the facility have been filled. James L. Reid, a Marine Corps veteran from Augusta, will serve as assistant director for security. Officials say Reid has worked for the Augusta Police Department, the Richmond County Marshalls Department and has been director of campus security at Paine College for 13 years.

Donnell Collins, a six-year Army veteran from Augusta, will serve as captain of corrections officers. He has worked for the Department of Juvenile Justice since 2000 at the Augusta Youth Development Campus and the Metro Regional Youth Development Campus in Atlanta.

Niles who is the fifth person to serve as commissioner of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice since 2010 plans to continue making unannounced visits to the Augusta youth detention center for surprise inspections.

In mid-December, Niles fired Brenda James-Ford principal of the detention center's school for failing to report a letter of reprimand she received for allegations of grade changing at another school district when she was hired in July. A corrections officer, a lieutenant and a sergeant were also fired around the same time as James-Ford.

The facility has had a string of problems and has been the target of probes conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and other agencies. The investigations revealed abuse, sexual misconduct and smuggling of drugs into the facility by guards.