CASTAIC : 15 Inmates Hurt in Brawl at Pitchess Honor Rancho

Fifteen inmates were injured in a fight Tuesday night when as many as 800 prisoners at the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho battled each other using crude weapons for about 15 minutes before guards were able to restore order, authorities said.

The fighting began about 7:45 p.m. in a minimum security compound at the jail when prisoners began arguing about the theft of money from an inmate, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Gabe Ramirez.

Within minutes, the battle divided along racial lines, with 750 to 800 Latino and African American inmates squaring off with mop and broom handles, socks filled with rocks and prison-made knives, Ramirez said.

Forty deputies, some using pepper spray, quelled the brawl, Ramirez said. Two injured inmates were taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, one with a broken clavicle and a cut above his eye, the other with several stab wounds, Ramirez said. The hospital declined to give their conditions.

Three inmates were taken to County-USC Medical Center to receive stitches, and 10 prisoners were treated at the jail’s medical clinic, Ramirez said.

No deputies were injured.

Inmates involved in the brawl have been transferred to different sections of the jail, Ramirez said, as is common practice after such incidents.

The jail has been the site of hundreds of brawls between Latino and African American inmates in recent years. Prison officials attribute the violence to a power struggle.