8 Inmates Hurt in Jail Brawl
Eight black and Latino inmates suffered cuts and bruises and one had to be hospitalized after a brawl erupted at the county jail in Castaic, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Saturday.
The fight at the medium-security North Facility of the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho erupted about 11 p.m. Friday when Latino inmates recognized a newly admitted black inmate who was apparently involved in an earlier fight, said Deputy Benita Hinojos.
About 90 inmates fought using telephone receivers torn from the walls and homemade knives in Friday’s brief melee, Hinojos said. A group of 12 deputies using sting-ball grenades broke up the fight about 10 minutes after it began, Hinojos said. Six handmade knives were confiscated after the fight, she said.
One inmate who suffered head injuries was hospitalized at the jail ward of Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. No deputies were injured in the fight.
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