Inmates Brawl at Pitchess Facility

Two brawls at a Castaic jail left 28 inmates injured Sunday in the latest incidents in a string of racially motivated fights, authorities said.

The two apparently unrelated melees, in which Latino inmates squared off against black prisoners, erupted about two hours apart Sunday afternoon at the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho, authorities said.

In the first incident, which occurred about 3:50 p.m., fighting broke out among 30 prisoners for an unknown reason, Deputy Irma Becerra of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. Deputies quelled the fight five minutes later by lobbing three “sting balls,” which make loud noises and spray rubber pellets but do not injure inmates.

Fifteen prisoners sustained cuts apparently made by makeshift knives, Becerra said. Two knives were recovered by deputies, but it was not known if they were used in the melee.

Ten of the injured inmates were treated at the facility’s clinic, while the other five were taken to County-USC Medical Center, Becerra said.

In the second confrontation at 6 p.m., about 70 prisoners faced off in a medium- to maximum-security section of the jail after a black inmate accused a Latino prisoner of stealing, Deputy Ron Weber said. The brawl was put down in six minutes by deputies using a single sting ball.

Eight of the 13 injured prisoners were taken to County-USC for treatment of puncture wounds and cuts, Weber said. The other five were treated at the facility clinic.

Deputies recovered 15 knives and several broom handles, Weber said.

The jail has been the scene of several racial brawls over the past year.