County Jail Brawl Leaves 7 Injured, 1 Seriously

A fight erupted between 30 inmates at the Los Angeles County Jail after two men began arguing over a gambling debt, sheriff’s spokesmen said Sunday.

One inmate was seriously hurt and six suffered minor injuries. The fight began about 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the Men’s Central Jail downtown, Deputy Larry Mead said.

Juan Portillo, 21, was listed in guarded condition at County-USC Medical Center with stab wounds to his upper body.

Deputy Ron Weber said the disturbance began after two men began fighting over the gambling debt. About 30 prisoners in the adjoining row of cells jumped in, divided between blacks and Latinos, Weber said. Deputies quelled the fight in three minutes, Mead said. A deputy shot one inmate with a rubber projectile after he refused to obey orders. The inmate was not injured.

Deputies confiscated five handmade knives after the brawl--the second at the jail in two weeks. On May 15, about 100 inmates started fighting, breaking into two racial groups, as they were led to lunch.