Hualapai juvenile jail open

KINGMAN, Ariz. -- A new juvenile detention center for members of northern Arizona's Hualapai tribe will end a long-standing practice of sending wards to a juvenile jail in New Mexico.

Assistant Director Angela Chavez says the 17,000-square-foot center can house 30 juvenile offenders ages 12 to 18 from the Hualapai tribe.

The facility in Peach Springs opened two weeks ago and will be at full capacity in July.

The tribe built the facility more than a year ago, but problems with funding delayed its opening.

It could expand to take wards from other tribes.

The tribe previously sent youth offenders to Gallup, N.M., through an intergovernmental agreement.

Chavez says five juveniles are currently held in the new facility.