With disciplinary action pending for 22 jail employees responsible for some aspect of an inmate’s escape last month, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office was called again to the county jail Tuesday, this time to investigate contraband among six inmates.

The hole between cells 107 and 108 in the DA (maximum security) housing part of the jail houses inmates and is separate from the high-risk security area from which attempted murder suspect Michael Rigby escaped Feb. 19. He was still missing at press time Friday. While the search was conducted, the six inmates who lived in the two cells were removed from the lockups, a step that hadn’t occurred during the many searches in the weeks before Rigby escaped.

The hole in the cell wall was discovered in cell 108. The toilet paper holder was easily removed to reveal a large void between the adjoining cells.

All six inmates denied knowing about the hole between their cells. The homemade alcohol, referred to as “buck” in the Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit for the accused inmates, still had chunks of fruit in it and wasn’t fully fermented.

Angel Portuondo, 41, Kevin Alsen, 28, Christopher Carter, 49, Salvatore Czajak, 37, Philip Wickham, 20, and Wendell Elliott, 25, were charged with introducing contraband to a detention facility in addition to their previous charges, which range from criminal mischief to possession on marijuana and cocaine for four of the six inmates.

Carter carries the most serious charge. He was slapped with first-degree murder of a Polk County man, whose remains were found in Intercession City in February 2009. Portuondo, arrested in North Miami Beach, is accused of grand theft, fraud and aggravated battery, among other charges.

Corrections Department Chief Gregg Futch said the contraband investigation had nothing to do with the escape and didn’t weigh in for the impending disciplinary action.

“This happens in jails quite frequently,” Futch said, praising the officers who discovered the contraband for acting quickly. “The officers did a good job in this case.”

Futch also said a report of disciplinary action to the almost two dozen jail employees found in violation of jail policy in the investigation of Rigby’s escape were delayed again because “additional things have come to light.” The jail report could come out sometime next week, he said.

Meanwhile, the requested demotions of two captains within the Corrections Department have yet to be processed, Futch said. Both Mark Stroop, captain of operations, and Stacy Gaines, captain of security, requested voluntary demotions on Feb. 25 and 26, respectively.

Gaines wrote that he believed he needed “additional executive level training and experience before I continue in my position as a captain,” before requesting the rank of lieutenant be restored to him. Gaines, who began as an Osceola County corrections officer in 1993, was promoted to captain in April 2009, after serving as lieutenant since March 2004.

Stroop requested his voluntary demotion “based on personal needs.” The county’s Corrections Department Web site already lists Gaines as a watch commander for shift D, with the rank of lieutenant. Additionally, Lt. Yuberky Almonte is named as an acting captain of the operations division.

The News-Gazette could not find Stroop listed among the Corrections Department’s ranked employees. His former responsibilities included initial inmate processing, medical screening, inmate classification and bond release.