May 11, 2020 | 9:19pm
A group of California inmates are accused of trying to intentionally infect themselves with the coronavirus — thinking they would be set free if they contracted the contagion, authorities said Monday.
Prisoners at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic were filmed sharing a disposable cup and sniffing a used face mask in order to accomplish their alleged plot, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
“Somehow, there was some mistaken belief among the inmate population that if they tested positive, that there was a way to force our hand and somehow release more inmates out of our jail environment — and that’s not going to happen,” Villanueva said at a press briefing.
In the section of the facility where the video was shot, 21 prisoners caught the bug “as a result of the behavior,” Villanueva said.
None of the inmates in the video have copped to trying to infect themselves.
More than 5,000 prisoners in Los Angeles County were released in a preemptive measure to avoid a widespread coronavirus outbreak.
Still, 357 prisoners have tested positive in the county.
With Post wires
