2 Inmates Are Hurt in Brawl at Pitchess Center

Two inmates were injured Thursday in a brawl that broke out among about 20 prisoners at the Pitchess jail when Latino inmates tried to charge white prisoners “rent,” Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies reported.

The fight broke out about 11 a.m. Thursday morning at the North facility, Deputy Mark Bailey said.

When the white inmates refused to make “rent” payments, Bailey said the two groups, both armed with “shanks,” or homemade jail knives, began fighting.

Deputies halted the fight less than five minutes later, but not before two prisoners were injured.

One unidentified man was stabbed once in the back and taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, where he was listed in serious condition. Another was listed in stable condition at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center after receiving a cut over an eye.

Bailey said the detention center is accustomed to gang fights and racial disputes, but insisted that Thursday’s battle was unique.

“This is the first time that I have heard about something like this,” Bailey said. “There are race fights, but I’ve never heard about someone demanding rent money.”