Detainee faces additional charges after Facebook Live video from jail goes viral

A detainee in Colorado gets additional jail time after he steals a phone from another inmate and posts a video from inside. The clip which has now gone viral shows proves he easily stole items from the inmate under the nose of three cops.

22-year-old Joseph Chavez who was recently detained for breaking into a car is now facing additional charges after posting a video from jail.

According to authorities from the Jefferson County Sherriff’s Office, Chavez stole a smartphone after being strip-searched in the jail’s booking area. He was being processed along with another inmate when he stole items from the other inmate’s property bag.

As to how Chavez managed to steal from the inmate is still being reviewed but during a sit-down interview with Fox31 and Channel 2 after posting his video he bragged that “there were three cops right there…didn’t even see.”

In his Facebook live clip that has now been viewed more than 11,000 times, Chavez says he wanted to record his jail time “so when I get out, I'm always like, yup, I got this on my [expletive] Facebook.”

Chavez later explained during his interview how he stole from the other inmate.

"I just seen someone's bag like their property bag, and I just ended up grabbing it. I seen cigarettes in there so I was like, I'll go back to the pod and make some money."

Due to his actions inside jail, Chavez now faces additional charges of theft and introduction of contraband.

Jenny Fulton, a spokesperson for the Sherriff’s office also said they are trying to review current policies and procedures so this sort of thing never happens again. She refused to detail how many deputies were working at the booking area at the time but no employees were suspected of collaborating with Chavez.

Meanwhile, Chavez's family sent a statement to Fox 31 asking for privacy after receiving backlash from his wrongdoing. Part of their statement read,

“Because of this recent incident, our family has been victim to numerous dehumanizing comments and criticism of his wrongdoing to members of the Chavez family over social media. We are asking for your respect of our situation and we humbly ask for our privacy to be appreciated while we handle this matter at this moment.”

Cellphones pose a threat and are banned from jail and prison because they're a means for inmates to orchestrate crimes from inside their cells. Last July, judges in California and South Carolina ordered cell phone carriers to disable close to 200 contraband cellphones used by inmates. The move was a victory for prison officials who struggle to stop the smuggling of phones inside prisons. Even Charles Manson reportedly obtained phones and communicated with his followers from his cell. Other states are expected to follow the lead of South Carolina and California in shutting down inmates’ cellphones as security measures are tightened. California prisons reportedly installed 1,000 sophisticated metal detectors, scanners, and secret security cameras in order to detect the smuggling of cell phones as well as contraband.