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

Fifteen inmates were injured in a fight Tuesday night when as many as 800 prisoners at 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 had divided along racial lines, with 750 to 800 Latino and African American inmates squaring off against each other using mop and broom handles, socks filled with rocks and prison-made knives, Ramirez said.

Forty deputies, some using pepper spray, were able to quell the brawl, Ramirez said.

Two injured inmates were taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, one with a broken clavicle and a cut above his eye, the other with several stab wounds to the torso, Ramirez said.

The hospital declined to give their conditions.

Three other 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 in the fighting.

Other inmates involved in the brawl have been transferred to different sections of the jail--a common practice after such incidents, Ramirez said.

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 at the jail.