A TAMWORTH man is one of 21 people charged in connection to a riot in a prison that left a damage bill that topped $130,000.
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The 39-year-old has been granted bail in court, after he was arrested at a home in Tamworth more than two months after the emergency that saw the prison put into lockdown.
More than 20 inmates have been charged over the riot at Cessnock jail in late-April - a scene where several prisoners allegedly made their way to the roof, while others are accused of barricading themselves away from staff.
Police claim the incident caused more than $130,000 damage.
The 39-year-old Tamworth man was arrested a Tamworth home on July 3 and was subsequently refused bail by police.
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He fronted Tamworth Local Court and has since been granted conditional bail to reappear in the same court in August.
The chaos began in the maximum security H Block of Shortland Correctional Centre about 11.30am on April 30.
The situation was under control by about 4pm.
Police were not called in at the time, and the matter was handled by Corrective Services NSW officers.
NSW Police said in a statement on Thursday morning that Hunter police were not called into the jail for help, and their investigation began in May.
As part of the police probe, officers worked with investigators from the Corrective Services NSW Special Operations Group, which culminated in the charges now before the court.
Police this week handed court attendance notices to 21 men aged between 22 and 39 for charges of rioting and participating in a criminal group.
Investigators allege the men threatened unlawful violence against prison officers and damaged parts of the jail including the ceiling, doors, roof and items inside - the value of the damage is estimated to be more that $130,000, police claim.
Nineteen of the men are due to face Cessnock Local Court.
Police confirmed nine men were charged at Goulburn jail; six at Cessnock jail; one at Kempsey jail; and one at Wellington jail.
A 33-year-old man was also served a court attendance notice at a Hamilton South home; and a 32-year-old man was issued a notice at a Gosford residence.
A 32-year-old man was charged at Surry Hills; and the 39-year-old man was charged at Tamworth.
Shortland Correctional Centre is a maximum-security prison and holds about 450 inmates, including those accused of murder, sexual assault and other serious criminal offences.
Breanna Chillingworth
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
Nick Bielby
Nick Bielby is a crime reporter who has worked as a journalist since 2011. Having joined the Newcastle Herald in 2017, he won a Walkley Award in 2019 with Donna Page for their investigation 'Dirty Deeds', which exposed the decades of illegal dumping of toxic material in and around a Hunter waterway.
Nick Bielby is a crime reporter who has worked as a journalist since 2011. Having joined the Newcastle Herald in 2017, he won a Walkley Award in 2019 with Donna Page for their investigation 'Dirty Deeds', which exposed the decades of illegal dumping of toxic material in and around a Hunter waterway.
