The Lea County Correctional Facility (LCCF) is a medium-security prison for men located four miles north-west of

Hobbs, New Mexico Hobbs is a city in Lea County, New Mexico, Lea County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 40,508 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, increasing from 34,122 in 2010. Hobbs is the principal city of the Hobbs, New Mexico microp ...

, opened in 1998 on 60 acres of the former

Hobbs Army Airfield Hobbs Army Airfield was an airfield used during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces Air Training Command as part of the Western Flight Training Center. It is located in the vicinity of Hobbs, New Mexico. History On 18 December 1941 ...

, now adjacent to the

Lea County Regional Airport Lea County Regional Airport (Lea County-Hobbs Airport) is four miles (6.4 km) west of Hobbs, in Lea County, New Mexico, United States. The airport covers and has three runways. It is an FAA certified commercial airport served by United A ...

. The facility can house 1200 state inmates of the

New Mexico Corrections Department The New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD; es, Departamento de Correcciones de Nuevo México) is a state agency of New Mexico, headquartered in unincorporated Santa Fe County, near Santa Fe. It the department operates corrections facilities, ...

, and is operated by the private

GEO Group The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) is a publicly traded C corporation that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in North America, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the company's f ...

under a contract administered through the county. In its first year, LCCF was "the site of three fatal inmate stabbings, six nonfatal stabbings, a 'near-riot' and allegations of guards using excessive force, according to reports in both the

Albuquerque Journal The ''Albuquerque Journal'' is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of New Mexico. History The ''Golden Gate'' newspaper was founded in June 1880. In the fall of 1880, the owner of the ''Golden Gate'' died and Journal Publishing Company was c ...

and

Albuquerque Tribune ''The Albuquerque Tribune'' was an afternoon newspaper in Albuquerque, New Mexico, founded in 1922 by Carl Magee, Carlton Cole Magee as ''Magee's Independent''. It was published in the afternoon and evening Monday through Saturday. Scott Ware s ...

." In April 2002 the U.S. Department of Justice found three LCCF guards guilty of civil rights conspiracy and obstruction charges after assaulting a prisoner, then falsifying reports and lying to investigators. In November 2011 the state of New Mexico imposed fines of $1.1 million against GEO Group for failing to maintain adequate staffing levels at LCCF. In March 2012 the state imposed another fine of nearly $300,000 for the company's failure to properly staff guards and health care workers; some positions had remained vacant for two months or longer.

Notable inmates

*Nehemiah Griego (born 1997) - perpetrator of the 2013 South Valley homicides *Nathaniel Jouett (born 2001) - perpetrator of the Clovis library shooting *

David Parker Ray David Parker Ray (November 6, 1939 – May 28, 2002), also known as the Toy-Box Killer, was an American kidnapper, torturer, serial rapist and suspected serial killer. Though no bodies were found, Ray was accused by his accomplices of killing s ...

(1939-2002) - abductor and possible serial killer; died at LCCF

References

{{State prisons in New Mexico Prisons in New Mexico Buildings and structures in Lea County, New Mexico GEO Group 1998 establishments in New Mexico