For corrections officers, life at the Pima County Adult Detention Center is all about maintaining order and safety.
For the 1,800 plus inmates, it's all about surviving — not only the long list of rules and regulations, but their fellow inmates.
Last year, 496 Pima County jail inmates were busted for assault for fighting with other inmates. Ninety-five assaulted jail staff members.
Another 893 prisoners were punished for hoarding everything from homemade weapons and broken radios to jars of peanut butter, extra sheets and newspapers.
The jail records of murder suspects Ronald Bruce Bigger and Dr. Bradley Schwartz provide a glimpse into what life is like at Sheriff Clarence Dupnik's "Graybar Hotel."
Since Schwartz and Bigger were arrested on Oct. 15, 2004, on suspicion of first-degree murder, they've been among the jail's most high-profile guests.
People are also reading…
Just as they've been unable to escape the media spotlight on the outside, on the inside neither has been able to escape the attention of corrections officers or their fellow inmates.
Bigger has spent 47 days in "separate confinement" or segregation, and Schwartz has spent 111 hours in "lockdown" mode, unable to leave his cell.
They've been involved in fights, threatened and forced to move from pod to pod to pod.
Being a high-profile inmate doesn't necessarily mean special treatment, said Lt. Michael Schlueter, the jail's planning and program commander.
Where an inmate is placed in the jail depends entirely on a booking interview, at which an inmate's medical and mental history, age, criminal history, sexuality and the crime he's accused of are considered, Schlueter said.
A first-time defendant probably shouldn't go in a pod with a three-time felon, nor should a suspect in a high-profile child rape case be put into a general population area, Schlueter said.
"Other prisoners don't like people who hurt little children," Schlueter said.
Inmates are given a 40-page handbook filled with rules and punishments. Those charged with violations get a hearing within seven business days.
Bigger's last hearing was in December — days after he showed up in Pima County Superior Court with a black eye. His attorney, Jill Thorpe, said he'd been "jumped" in the jail and suggested Schwartz may have been behind the attack.
A video of the event, however, shows Bigger running across a common area and attacking the other inmate.
In an administrative hearing, Bigger was found guilty of assault. He was given 15 days in "separate confinement" and lost his commissary and recreation privileges.
More often than not, Bigger has gotten into trouble for disobeying officers' commands.
Once officers had to take Bigger to the floor and handcuff and shackle him because he refused an order to sit on a wet floor when officers responded to a disturbance in his pod.
He was put in a segregation cell on another occasion for cursing at an officer and refusing to follow orders to get into his cell. Jail records say Bigger pointed the officer out and yelled, "That's the (expletive) that tried to get me to confess!"
He's been disciplined several times for having such things as an extra pillowcase and sheet and cleaning supplies in his room, and for using a cordless phone to make personal calls instead of calls to his lawyer.
Bigger isn't the only one to be caught with the wrong stuff in his cell. Schwartz has lost privileges over bananas, apples and oranges, a radio, a chessboard, extra batteries, extra sheets and extra magazines. He also got in trouble for giving his Kosher diet tray to another inmate, for being in another inmate's cell and for taking his time obeying officers.
"Anything and everything can become important when you can't have it," Schlueter said when asked why someone would risk getting into trouble for grape jelly, a set of dominoes or an extra blanket.
The most mundane of contraband can be a concern, Schlueter said. A broken radio can become a weapon, as well as a fire hazard. Toothpaste is used to stick items to a wall, but it can also darken a light bulb, leaving officers unable to see.
While Bigger and Schwartz have most often been the architects of their own jail problems, they've also been victims and expressed fears for their own safety.
Jail records indicate 18 inmates were hurt seriously enough in assaults to go to the hospital; however, the jail was unable to provide details about the seriousness of the injuries or the nature of the incidents.
Schwartz was punched in the face while talking on the phone once. He declined to pursue criminal charges.
Jail officials said they keep no record of how many inmates have been charged for acts they commit while locked up.
Bigger has changed cells more than two dozen times, while Schwartz has been moved about a dozen times.
Schlueter declined to comment on specific cases but said moves can be prompted by disciplinary actions, credible threats made against them, illness, overcrowding or some other jail management issue.
Bigger's moves have often been accompanied by complaints, like one letter, replete with grammatical errors and misspellings, in which he described being moved into a pod where three "extremely violent beatings" took place in five weeks.
"The potential (for injuries) is high just because of the nature of my case, and the warped perception that I'm everyone's ticket by illiciting false confessions, pressure to take place in morally wrong behavior and just prison crap," he wrote.
Schwartz, too, has apparently feared for his safety. Jail records indicate the "Chicanos" wanted Schwartz out of their pod and told the "White Boys" to relay the message to Schwartz.
Corrections officers found a note on the floor signed by "Doc" saying he wasn't a snitch and he didn't want any trouble. He told the gang member that he'd owe him "big" if he could get the whole thing called off. When asked about it, Schwartz said it was a misunderstanding.
"Running a jail is really complex," Schlueter said. "It's not a textbook thing."
On StarNet: Learn more about the suspects in the murder of Dr. David Stidham and other individuals involved in the case.
● 1,800: The average number of inmates at the Pima County Adult Detention Center.
● 120: The average number of new inmates booked into the jail daily.
● 8,403: The number of major rules broken last year.
● 496: The number of inmates charged with assaulting another inmate.
● 95: The number of inmates charged with assaulting jail staff members.
● 893: The number of times contraband was found within the jail, ranging from peanut butter and jelly to a 4.5-inch homemade knife.
● 47: The number of days murder suspect Ronald Bruce Bigger has spent in "separate confinement" or segregation.
● 111: The number of hours murder suspect Bradley Schwartz has spent locked up in his cell.
● 2: The number of days Schwartz has spent in "separate confinement" or segregation.
