College student forgotten in cell says he had hallucinations about Japanese-style cartoons

College student forgotten in cell says he had hallucinations about Japanese-style cartoons

dr dre headphones (U-T San Diego, K.C. Alfred/ Associated Press ) - Daniel Chong appears at a news conference where he discussed his detention by the DEA during a news conference on May 1, 2012 in San Diego. Chong, a U.S. college student, was forgotten by federal drug agents and left in a holding cell for five days without food, water or access to a toilet says he drank his own urine to survive. The 24-year-old engineering student at University of California, San Diego, was swept up as one of nine suspects in an April 21 drug raid that netted 18,000 ecstasy pills, other drugs and weapons. Chong said federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents told him he would be released.CAPTIONFULLSCREEN  Text Size PrintE-mailReprintsBy Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, May 3, 8:52 AMAP SAN DIEGO — A college student picked up in a drug sweep in California was never arrested, never charged and should have been released. Instead he was forgotten in a holding cell for four days and says he had to drink his own urine to stay alive.Without food, water or access to a toilet, Daniel Chong began hallucinating on the third day.Weigh InCorrections?Recommend Tweet Personal Post .He told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday that he saw little Japanese-style cartoon characters that told him to dig into the walls to find water. Chong tore apart the plastic lining on the walls.“I ripped the walls and waited for the room to flood for some reason,” said the 23-year-old University of California, San Diego, student, three days after he left the hospital where he was treated for dehydration and kidney failure. “I can’t explain my hallucinations too well because none of them make sense.”Later he added, “I felt like I was completely losing my mind.”Four days later, agents opened the door on a fluke and found him covered in his own feces, Chong said.The top Drug Enforcement Administration agent in San Diego apologized Wednesday for Chong’s treatment and promised an investigation into how his agents could have forgotten about him.Chong’s lawyer, Eugene Iredale, said he intends to seek damages from the DEA and may file a lawsuit against the government. dr dre headphones “He nearly died,” Iredale said. “If he had been there another 12 to 24 hours, he probably would have died.”The incident stands out as one of the worst cases of its kind, said Thomas Beauclair, deputy director of the National Corrections Institute, a federal agency that provides training and technical assistance to corrections agencies.“That is pretty much unheard of,” he said, noting that, in his 40-year career, he has heard of instances where people were forgotten overnight but not for days.U-T San Diego was the first to report Chong’s account.Chong told the AP that he went to his friend’s house April 20 to get high. Every April 20, pot smokers light up in a counterculture ritual held around the country at 4:20 p.m.Chong slept there that night and, around 10:50 a.m. the next day, agents stormed into the house as Chong said he was rolling a joint at the kitchen table. The raid netted 18,000 ecstasy pills, other drugs and weapons. Nine people, including Chong, were taken into custody, according to the DEA.Chong was moved from cell to cell for several hours and then questioned. He said agents then told him that he was not a suspect and would be released shortly. He signed some paperwork, was put in handcuffs and sent back to the holding cell, a 5-by-10-foot windowless room. The room is one of five cells at the facility.The only view in was through a tiny peephole in the door. He said he could hear the muffled voices of agents and a toilet flushing. As the hours dragged into days, he said he kicked and screamed as loud as he could. At one point, he ripped a piece of his jacket off with his teeth and shoved it under the door, hoping someone would spot it and free him.