Castaic Facility Locked Down After Fighting

Maximum-security prisoners at the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho in Castaic were placed under a lock-down Sunday night after an outbreak of racial violence that left a sheriff’s deputy and five inmates injured, authorities said Monday.

As many as 20 black and Latino inmates, many armed with broken broom handles, were involved in a “vicious fight” in the maximum-security dormitory, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Sam Jones said. Deputy Steven Mills, 23, and the five inmates were treated for minor injuries at a nearby hospital. The lock-down ended at 6 a.m. Monday.

Jones said the disturbance was sparked by racial tensions, while other deputies said overcrowdedness may have contributed to the incident. There are 1,704 inmates housed there, about twice as many as the facility was intended to accommodate.