A Los Angeles County judge took a major step toward shutting down Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, months after a state oversight body found it 'unsuitable' to house youth.

Superior Court Judge Michael Espinoza ordered on Friday that the county is to come up with a plan to relocate detained youth out of the Downey juvenile hall as state regulators say it is unsuitable to house them.

Los Padrinos holds more than 270 youths, of which about three-quarters are accused of violent crimes, according to the Probation Department.