Grand jury decries unused lockup - Chatsworth cells could ease jail crowding, the L.A. County panel says. Officials say the facility isn't for long-term use.

That is the assertion of a Los Angeles County civil grand jury, which is demanding to know why a lockup in Chatsworth sits unoccupied as other county jails are releasing prisoners early because of overcrowding.

"State of the art" cells engineered to accommodate 350 prisoners sit unused beneath the Chatsworth Courthouse, jurors said.

"Who is responsible for the multimillion-dollar boondoggle, also known as the Chatsworth Jail?" panel members asked in their final 2006-2007 report.

"Every modern technological advance was utilized and no expense was spared to ensure the security and well-being of each prisoner," jurors concluded.

Except there are no inmates.

"The only fault this Civil Grand Jury found is that the Chatsworth Jail sits in an empty, pristine and unused condition, despite the fact that the Board of Supervisors is well aware of the appalling conditions at both Twin Towers and Men's Central Jail," the jury report said.

The jury's blast comes amid continuing controversy over the early release of celebrities Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie from jail sentences.

Hilton was sent home four days after beginning a 45-day sentence for violating probation on alcohol-related reckless driving charges. An irate Superior Court judge later ordered her returned to jail, where she served 23 days before being released in late June.

In late August, Richie served 82 minutes of a four-day jail term for driving the wrong way on a freeway under the influence of drugs.

Sheriff's Department officials defended both celebrities' early release, explaining that sentences are frequently cut radically under guidelines used for dealing with chronic overcrowding in the county jails.

Over the last five years, more than 200,000 inmates have been released early because of crowding.

The $98-million Chatsworth Courthouse opened in 2002 at the corner of Winnetka Avenue and Plummer Street. The 300,000-square-foot granite structure began operation with 10 courtrooms, with space for eight more.

Its high-tech confinement cells are in the basement. Each is equipped with stainless-steel toilets and sinks, built-in bench seating and computerized pay telephones. Security includes double-doored entryways that are under constant video surveillance. Additional holding cell space is upstairs, nearer to courtrooms.