L.A. Inmates Transferred to State Facilities
LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of inmates at Los Angeles county correctional facilities are being transferred to state prisons following racial fights that have resulted in two inmate deaths and hundreds of injuries.
A 38-year-old black inmate died Sunday afternoon after he was attacked by four Hispanic inmates that lived in the same six-person cell at Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles. The inmate was the second to die since racial fighting between Hispanic and black inmates began Feb. 4 at Pitchess Detention Center in the northern part of the county and spread to other facilities.
About 200 inmates have already been transferred to state facilities and about 400 more are expected to be transferred this week, according to reports.
About 18,425 inmates are housed in county correctional facilities. The entire jail system — the largest in the United States — has been locked down for several days.
The fights were initiated by Mexican Mafia gang leaders who authorized attacks on black inmates after one of their associates was attacked by a black gang member, according to investigators.
