CASTAIC : 8 Inmates, 4 Guards Hurt in Jail Brawl

Eight inmates and four deputies were injured in an apparently racially motivated brawl that involved 600 to 800 prisoners at a Castaic jail Wednesday, authorities said.

The fight started about 3 p.m. in a medium-security barracks at the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho South Facility, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies said. Each barracks houses 80 to 90 prisoners.

The fight apparently began as a racial dispute between several black and Latino inmates, Deputy Diane Hecht said. The melee spilled over into another compound and 40 to 50 deputies moved in to control the fight at 3:15 p.m.

Deputies used “stingball” grenades--which burst and shoot rubber pellets that sting the skin--to stop the brawl, which ended at 3:25 p.m., Hecht said.

Four inmates who suffered head injuries were taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, Hecht said. Another four inmates received moderate injuries and were treated at County-USC Medical Center, and four deputies received minor injuries, she said.

The south facility houses 1,627 inmates, Hecht said.