By C1 Staff
RAYMONDVILLE — Following last week’s 2,000-inmate involved riot that left the Raymondville Correctional Institution ‘uninhabitable,’ those who live in the nearby town worry how the transfer of inmates will affect their businesses.
“I would be naïve if I say ‘I don’t know what will happen.’ I do know what will happen,” former Raymondville Mayor Joe Alexander told the Valley Central. “If we lose our prisoners, the income comes down.”
Employees may be furloughed or lose their jobs, Alexander said.
Five hundred and seventy inmates were removed from the facility by Monday morning, and it’s unclear where they were transferred to. The facility they came from faces potential shuttering.
“I want the jail to reopen and for there to be work again, so that the money can flow again for the city,” said Carlos Gamez, who works at a nearby restaurant. Several regulars who patronize the restaurant work at the prison.
The inmates rioted last week, setting fire to three of the prison’s 10 housing units, complaining of poor medical care.