Sheriff to Move Violent Inmates

Amid racial violence in county lockups, Baca acts to transfer serious offenders to the Twin Towers Jail, which critics have called underused.

February 08, 2006|Sharon Bernstein and Richard Winton | Times Staff Writers

"It was almost instantaneous," Jones said.

The extra staff, Jones said "was not even close" to enough to break up the melee. Moreover, he said, many of the deputies on duty that day had little or no jail experience.

"You could see it in their eyes -- they were like deer in the headlights," Jones said. "Some of the deputies and custodial assistants, it was their first night."

Officials now believe that the original violence Saturday was "greenlighted" by the Mexican Mafia prison gang, Klugman said.

Throughout the state, county sheriffs and state prison wardens are concerned that the violence could spread.

The jail situation also was playing out on a political level.

At Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting, some officials criticized the Sheriff's Department for its continuing problems in managing the jails.

Supervisors said they were particularly concerned about the department's pace in hiring new deputies to help ease tensions in the jails. New deputies are required to work for several years in the jails.

The department has had trouble recruiting and retaining deputies, in part because of the jail service requirement.

Supervisor Gloria Molina on Tuesday suggested that the county might consider creating a special custodial department that would hire jail guards directly into the system.

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Times staff writers Amanda Covarrubias in Castaic and Megan Garvey in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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