Ex-detention center guard pleads guilty to taking bribes

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A former guard at a juvenile detention center in Chehalis has pleaded guilty to a federal charge that he accepted bribes in exchange for smuggling marijuana, cell phones and other contraband inside. Prosecutors said Julio Hayes, a former guard at the state-run Green Hill School, accepted more than $11,000 in payments for the contraband from offenders or their friends or relatives, and that he often took orders by text message. He was fired in early 2020 after an FBI investigation. Hayes had worked at the school since 2018. He pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma and will be sentenced in October.