(May 21, 2009)

SAN DIEGO--A county run juvenile detention center in Duval County is in the middle of controversy. It all began when somebody found some guards drinking on the property.

The guards confessed to drinking in the parking lot, but the evidence was erased. Then another employee was fired for failing a drug test.

It was here in this parking lot at the Garcia Juvenile Regional Detention Center in San Diego where four guards were caught drinking. A surveillance camera recorded their actions and it led to their suspension.

"It was an error in judgment on their part, but it was a blatant disrespect to our policies that we have here," said Ashley Barrera, who is the Garcia Juvenile Regional Detention Center Director. 

The county attorney wanted to investigate to make sure no criminal acts were committed, but when he asked for the recording, he found out it was accidentally erased.

"In looking the system the way it's set up the way it works any deletion of files its a five step process and it had to be intentional," said Duval County Attorney Ricardo "Rocky" Carrillo.

So a Texas Ranger was called to investigate a tampering with evidence case.

After this, the juvenile detention center ordered a random drug test of the 33 guards. Four came back positive on the first test that was done internally, and county officials said those results were destroyed.

When a second test was done by a company, only one guard tested positive.

"One particular person that tested positive continue to test positive during the drug screening by the officials and because of that he was terminated," Barrera said. 

County leaders were upset over this so now they have changed the policy regarding this issue.

"The process of how drug testing is done will be changed to where they add an outside agency will be conducting the drug test and it will be kept for the person's personnel file," Carrillo said. 

--Manuel De La Rosa, Area 3 News, mdelarosa@kiiitv.com