Two Prisoners Killed, Several Hurt in Brawl at Baja Prison

Two inmates were killed and several other prisoners wounded as the result of a disturbance Monday at the Baja California State Penitentiary in Tijuana, authorities said.

The fracas was limited to about a half-dozen inmates and never threatened to escalate into a full-scale riot, officials said.

However, scores of state and city police officers were rushed to the prison, in the La Mesa neighborhood southeast of downtown Tijuana.

The cause of the dispute was being investigated, police said.

The severely crowded prison holds about 2,400 inmates and 1,400 family members in a block-square enclosure meant for 800 prisoners. It has been the source of several disturbances in recent months that authorities blame on crowding.

Earlier this year, the warden quit amid allegations of widespread corruption.

Monday’s melee began about 6:45 p.m. inside the prison bakery and lasted about 45 minutes, according to Rosa Maria Lopez, a legal officer at the prison.

She identified the the dead as Juan Manuel Carrasco Villapudua, 39, serving a nine-year sentence for possessing arms and drugs, and Jorge Sanchez Garcia, 24, a convicted murderer.

Three or four other prisoners were treated for a variety of wounds, and all were expected to live, according to prison officials.

There were conflicting accounts about weapons used by the prisoners. Tijuana press accounts indicated that they brandished pistols, but a prison official said homemade knives were the only weapons involved.