The Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles (MDC Los Angeles) is a prison in downtown Los Angeles, California which holds male and female inmates prior to and during court proceedings, as well as inmates serving short sentences. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.[1]
History
The 272,000-square-foot (25,300 m2) prison opened in December 1988 with a cost of $36 million (equivalent to $96 million in 2024), making Los Angeles the fifth U.S. city with a downtown federal prison. MDC Los Angeles had a distinct design, referring to housing areas as rooms rather than cells and not using iron bars on its cell doors. It had a special design using plate glass windows, balconies, and atriums. Kim Murphy of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the building has "more the look of a downtown office building than a prison."[2] It was the first BOP prison to completely ban smoking.[2]
The opening of MDC Los Angeles allowed prisoners whose trials are pending to be housed near Federal Court, ending the time-consuming process of transporting hundreds of prisoners a week back and forth down the Harbor Freeway each day court is in session.[2]
When the facility first opened, federal court proceedings took place at the nearby Spring Street Courthouse, located two blocks away.[2] In 1992, a second federal courthouse opened inside the Roybal Building built adjacent to MDC Los Angeles. In 2016, the federal courts at Spring Street relocated to the new First Street Courthouse, located six blocks away.
Programs
Various services are available to inmates at MDC Los Angeles, including drug treatment and education programs, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, GED and ESL classes, and correspondence classes. Inmates may meet with a chaplain or a priest upon request.[3]
Pleaded guilty to murdering Federal Correctional Officer Jose Rivera at the United States Penitentiary, Atwater on June 20, 2008; accomplice James Leon Guerrero also pleaded guilty and is serving a life sentence.[4]
Daughter and son-in-law of imprisoned Mexican Mafia kingpin Danny Roman; indicted in 2012 for allegedly receiving orders from Roman and directing gang activities which include extortion, robbery, drug trafficking and murder.[6]
Software developer convicted in 2000 for traveling in interstate commerce with the intent to have sex with a minor when he took a Disney private jet from Seattle to Los Angeles hoping to meet up with a minor but was actually an undercover FBI agent
Charged with Federal terrorism. Conspiracy to bomb up a mosque, the offices of US Congressman Darrell Issa, and the offices of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Sentenced to death on March 12, 2007, Commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole on December 23, 2024, now at USP Terre Haute
Kidnapping five people, demanding more than $5.5 million in ransom from relatives and associates, and killing the kidnapped victims. The bodies were tied with weights and dumped in a reservoir near Yosemite National Park.
