The triple bunks have been around at least since 1987.<\/p>\n
A San Diego Union-Tribune article from Dec. 21 of that year, described work crews at a now-shuttered jail in Descanso soldering together bunks. The article quotes a jail official saying that making the bunks in-house saved money, costing about $30 per bed instead of roughly $220 if they\u2019d been bought from a prison supplier.<\/p>\n
But the practice has cost the county millions of dollars in legal settlements.<\/p>\n
In 2021, the family of Lyle Woodward won a $400,000 settlement in a lawsuit they filed after he was killed by a cellmate in a three-person cell in the Central Jail.<\/p>\n
In March 2023, the county agreed to pay Frankie Greer nearly $8 million<\/a> for injuries he sustained after he fell from the top of a triple bunk.<\/p>\n According to his lawsuit<\/a>, Greer had a seizure disorder and told deputies he needed a bottom bunk, but his request was denied.<\/p>\n Less than 24 hours later, he fell 6 feet from the top bunk, hitting his head on the concrete floor. He suffered a serious brain injury and was in a coma for several weeks. He\u2019s now in an assisted-living facility.<\/p>\n In December 2023, Eric Van Tine was attacked after being housed with two other men in a cell measuring just under 75 square feet.<\/p>\n According to sheriff investigators, Walt Mehran dragged Van Tine from his bunk after he fell asleep and beat him unconscious.<\/p>\n Van Tine suffered a traumatic brain injury and spent four months in a coma. He later developed a severe lung infection, was placed on life support and died Nov. 6, 2024, after his family chose to withdraw care.<\/p>\n In September, Mehran pleaded guilty<\/a> to attempted murder and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.<\/p>\n In a statement to the court before Mehran\u2019s sentencing, Van Tine\u2019s brother, Matthew, criticized the decision by sheriff\u2019s deputies to place three men \u2014 two with acute mental illness \u2014 in a small, unsupervised cell. He called it \u201creckless,\u201d \u201cinhumane\u201d and representative of a broader systemic failure.<\/p>\n Van Tine\u2019s family has also sued<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to the Sheriff\u2019s Office, the county jail system currently has 732 sets of triple bunks \u2014\u00a0393 in individual cells and the remainder in dormitory-style housing units, all in male facilities. Removing those third bunks entirely would reduce the jail system\u2019s capacity by roughly the equivalent of one jail.<\/p>\n A sheriff\u2019s spokesperson said the department is relying on the opening of new housing units at the Rock Mountain Detention Facility and the completion of construction at East Mesa Reentry Facility, both in Otay Mesa, to offset the reduction in capacity.<\/p>\n Lt. David Collins said triple bunks were \u201cbeing phased out,\u201d with removals continuing into 2026.<\/p>\n A class-action lawsuit<\/a> filed nearly five years ago over jail conditions has also pushed the Sheriff\u2019s Office to scale back on its use of triple bunks, after incarcerated people with disabilities described injuries they suffered struggling to get in and out of triple bunks.<\/p>\n![\"Eric](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/sut-l-van-tine-01_e7d568-rotated-1.jpg\")
Eric Van Tine is pictured at the coast before his arrest. (Matthew Van Tine)<\/p>\n