Fight Erupts at County Jail in Castaic--22 Prisoners Hurt

A fight broke out Sunday among 45 maximum-security prisoners armed with sharpened broomsticks and pieces of metal at a Los Angeles County jail facility in Castaic, leaving 22 inmates injured before order was restored, authorities said.

Afterward, officials ordered a lock-down of the 1,770-inmate maximum-security section of the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho, confining prisoners to their cells and canceling all visiting hours for the day, Deputy Peter Fosselman said.

The fight began about 11 a.m. in a dormitory building that houses 130 prisoners, Fosselman said. Sheriff’s deputies quickly stopped the outburst and no officers were injured, he said.

Called Spontaneous

“It appeared to be a spontaneous disturbance,” Fosselman said. The fight was between a group of black inmates and a group of Latino and non-Latino white prisoners and may have been racially motivated, he added.

Jail officials said they were investigating the cause of the incident to determine whether any further disciplinary action will be taken.

Four prisoners were taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center for observation after being treated for minor wounds at the jail infirmary, Fosselman said. One inmate was stabbed in the abdomen and a second was stabbed in the chest, he said. The nature of injuries sustained by the other two inmates was not known, but the wounds were described as minor, Fosselman said.

The other 18 inmates injured in the fight were treated for minor wounds at the infirmary and released to their quarters, he said.

Houses 5,200 Prisoners

The 2,850-acre penal facility near Interstate 5 and Halsey Canyon Road, about 40 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, is the county’s second-largest jail. It houses 5,200 prisoners who are either awaiting trial or sentencing to state prison for crimes ranging from misdemeanor theft to felony rape, armed robbery and assault.

Seven inmates, including one murderer, escaped from the rancho’s maximum-security section in March, 1985. As a result, county officials stopped sending inmates being held on murder charges to the facility. The county plans to add a $110-million maximum-security building that will house 2,100 more prisoners by January, 1989.

The jail was renamed four years ago in honor of former Los Angeles County Sheriff Peter J. Pitchess. The former Wayside Honor Rancho was the state’s first honor ranch when it opened in 1938 to house prisoners who were allowed to work off light sentences under minimum security.

Now, the majority of the inmates housed there are medium- and maximum-security prisoners, authorities said.