DESCANSO : Disturbance at Jail Camp Quelled

A disturbance involving about 80 inmates at a county detention camp in the Descanso area Saturday was quickly brought under control by probation officers, authorities said.

The incident began about 4:10 p.m. Saturday at Camp Descanso, a medium-security detention camp with about 300 inmates.

A group of Latino federal inmates awaiting deportation attacked a group of predominantly black state parolees and a melee ensued in a yard outside a dormitory, according to Supervising Probation Officer Jack Wilson. The exact reason for the confrontation was unknown, but it was apparently racial, Wilson said.

Two inmates suffered minor injuries in the fighting among inmates armed with clubs, rocks ad weight-lifting equipment. Three probation officers who intervened also suffered minor injuries, Wilson said.

Although probation officials requested help from San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies, California Highway Patrol officers and Border Patrol agents from neighboring areas, the disturbance was broken up within about 10 minutes, Wilson said.