Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : 15 Inmates Injured in Brawl at Pitchess Honor Rancho

Fifteen prisoners at a Castaic jail suffered minor injuries in a brawl between Latino and black inmates that was quelled by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies using pepper spray and grenades that discharge rubber pellets, authorities said Tuesday.

The disturbance at the maximum security North County Correctional Facility of the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho started Monday about 6 p.m. when a Latino and a black inmate began arguing in one of the jail’s dormitories, Sheriff’s Deputy Benita Hinojos said.

The fight mushroomed into a three-minute brawl involving 54 prisoners. Inmates used a broken broom and a telephone receiver as makeshift weapons, Hinojos said.

Twenty-four sheriff’s deputies, including two Emergency Response Teams, used pepper spray and grenades packed with rubber pellets to end the disturbance, Hinojos said.

Injured inmates were treated in the jail infirmary. No deputies were injured, Hinojos said.

Prisoners involved in the brawl will be transferred to other parts of the 3,300-inmate North County section of the jail, Hinojos said.

The fight was the third at the Pitchess Honor Rancho between Latino and black inmates in less than three weeks.