CASTAIC : 4 Inmates Hurt in 2 Jail Fights

Four prisoners suffered minor wounds early Tuesday in two separate fights between black and Latino inmates at the jail facility in Castaic, authorities said.

Two crudely made knives, called “shanks” in jail jargon, were confiscated after the fights and no deputies were injured, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

Both incidents were in the maximum security North County Correctional Facility at the Peter Pitchess Honor Rancho.

The first incident, about 12:45 a.m., involved about 45 inmates in a dormitory brawl and three inmates were stabbed with “jail-fabricated shanks,” Deputy Ron Weber said.

Two were hospitalized in stable condition.

A third was treated at the jail clinic for a superficial wound, Weber said.

In an unrelated incident in another dormitory, a black inmate received a minor stab wound in a scuffle with a Latino inmate about 6:15 a.m., Capt. Herb Pettus said.

Both inmates were transferred to other dormitories, he said, and the motive for the dispute was still under investigation.