Why were four teens held in adult Pierce County jail returned to Remann Hall?

Four teenage boys returned June 17 to the juvenile detention center, Remann Hall, after they were transferred last month to Pierce County Jail to alleviate safety and security concerns at the youth detention facility.

The boys, who are being tried as adults for alleged crimes ranging from murder to assault, were each 17 years old when relocated to a private wing in the adult jail on May 13. The transfers followed the request of Pierce County Juvenile Court officials who said staffing shortages, facility limitations and increases in the detainee population at Remann Hall necessitated the temporary moves.

On May 9, acting detention manager Steve Hill had requested the Pierce County Superior Court approve transfers of eight detainees being tried as adults but Judge Joseph Evans ultimately authorized only four.

Hearings were held June 16 to revisit the decision and determine whether it was still in the interest of justice to continue to hold the defendants in the adult jail.

“(T)he 4 adult status youth will be returning to Pierce County Juvenile Court,” Jinnie Horan, a spokesperson for the juvenile court, said in an email following the hearings on June 16. “Our staffing levels and the current detention population are both trending in a better direction for us.”

Horan said in a follow-up statement that the juveniles had returned on June 17.

There were three factors that led officials to seek to temporarily shrink the youth detention facility’s population.

The Juvenile Court is authorized for 37 full-time juvenile detention officers but had two vacancies and four staff on leave as of June 3, Juvenile Court administrator TJ Bohl previously said. The average daily detainee population had risen from 13 to 27 between 2022 and last year, with 33 detainees in the facility at the time the transfers occurred.

Horan said on June 16 that Remann Hall still currently has two vacancies that are in the process of being filled and three staff on leave. There were 25 detainees in the facility, excluding the four juveniles, as of June 16, she said.

Last month, Hill also said in a Superior Court filing that three of eight total housing units in the youth facility were not immediately usable because of HVAC issues. Pierce County’s Facilities Management Department is performing a $2.8 million replacement of HVAC units that serve six detention pods, which is expected to finish next month, county spokesperson Libby Catalinich said. HVAC units in two other pods weren’t scheduled to be replaced until 2028.

Ultimately, Remann Hall itself needs to be replaced, Catalinich said.

Arguing that adult jail was not suitable for inmates under 18 years old, lawyers representing detainees in May had objected to the transfers. The Pierce County Jail, which is facing its own staffing shortage, required three deputies to manage the juveniles’ separate wing inside the jail, a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson previously told The News Tribune.

This story was originally published June 17, 2025 at 1:15 PM.

Shea Johnson

The News Tribune

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Shea Johnson is an investigative reporter who joined The News Tribune in 2022. He covers broad subject matters, including civil courts. His work was recognized in 2023 and 2024 by the Society of Professional Journalists Western Washington Chapter. He previously covered city and county governments in Las Vegas and Southern California. He received his bachelor’s degree from Cal State San Bernardino. Support my work with a digital subscription