Inmates at the Dona Ana County Detention Center created chaos when they were told by officers their time was up to cut hair.

Ezequiel Gonzales, Jonathan Garcia, David Benavidez, Jarvaughn Coleman, Cornelio Holguin, Marcos Barela and Arnold Hofeldt were all indicted on assault on a jail, escape or attempt to escape from a jail, arson (over $1,000), criminal damage to property (over $1,000) and conspiracy charges stemming from a Sept. 23 riot.

Inside the jail, in a maximum-security holding area, inmates were using hair clippers to cut their own hair when the allotted time was up, said spokeswoman for the sheriff's office Kelly Jameson.

She said it is standard policy at the jail to make the electric clippers available to inmates between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
When the deadline came, the inmates were given a half-hour extension. At 5:30 p.m., the inmates refused to return the shears and became combative, sheriff's officials said.

Authorities said the inmates broke windows using a broom handle and a piece of metal that was broken off of a desk inside the pod.

A trash can and a couple of mattresses were set on fire using a lighter.

Costs to repair the damage were estimated at a minimum of $10,000.

Jameson said an inmate who was in violation of having contraband in his possession had the lighter.

The chaos was quickly settled when a special response team was alerted, said Jameson.

No injuries were reported.