Judge denies holding sheriff's office in contempt over Santa Rita Jail heat claims
Bodycam: Deputy speaks with Leonard Jones about hot cell
On April 4, 2025, an Alameda County Sheriff's deputy told Leonard Jones that he called maintenance to find "some kind of a solution because there are days where it's super hot in the cell or it's super cold."
OAKLAND, Calif. - An Alameda County Superior Court judge has denied a request to hold the sheriff's office in contempt of court in the case of a man complaining that his cell is too hot. But the judge did schedule a resentencing date for the man, who has been held at Santa Rita Jail for 13 years.
On Friday, Judge Thomas Stevens said he would not penalize the sheriff's office for not turning over all the documentation requested by attorney Daniel Shriro on behalf of his client, Leonard Jones – currently the longest-serving person in Santa Rital Jail custody.
According to Shriro, Stevens said that enough evidence about the temperature in Jones' cell had been provided so far, and requiring the sheriff's office to turn over more information would simply delay the larger picture at hand – Jones' resentencing date, which he scheduled for May 8.
The judge said he didn't want to take up court time and resources on the heating issue at the jail, which would get both sides "too far into the weeds,"Shriro recounted.
"It's frustrating," Shiro said, "but not surprising."
Video: Santa Rita Jail deputies acknowledge 120-degree heat in cell
Leonard Jones, who holds the title of being among the longest held in Santa Rita Jail, is working toward reducing his 59-year prison sentence, while simultaneously fighting with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office over what he describes as unfair treatment, including being subjected to 120-degree heat at times in his cell.
Before the judge's ruling, Shriro on Friday presented to the court several body camera videos and reports indicating that Jones' cell was so hot at times that he had been moved to a cooler, temporary cell on at least one occasion and that a deputy acknowledged that heat of at least 120 degrees had been pumped into Jones' cell.
The upshot for Shriro is that the judge didn't want to wait any more for Jones' resentencing date, a key reason why his case has been languishing without movement for years.
Jones was originally sentenced to 59 years in prison for shooting a man in the ankle in San Leandro in 2013. Thirty of those years were for gun enhancements, and California's new laws mandate that judges impose sentences that are in the "middle" range, not the "upper" range, as Jones received.
The sheriff's office, in response to KTVU's inquiry, responded that any claim that their office is "deliberately manipulating heating conditions in Mr. Jones' assigned cell is unfounded."
In court filings, county counsel Clay Christianson called Jones' allegations "meritless" and an "attempt to manufacture issues to reduce his sentencing." Christianson also referenced George Bernard Shaw's preface to the "Doctor's Dilemma," where he wrote, "desperation makes men clutch at straws."
Meanwhile, Shriro said he is pleased that Jones' resentencing case is moving forward after all this time, and he plans to bring up some of the heat issues and other "systemic" mistreatment of Jones in his effort to get his client out of custody for the time he has already served. The District Attorney has yet to make public their opinion on Jones' resentencing.
"I think we're in good shape," Shriro said.