Deputies Stop Inmate Melee Between Latinos and Asians

A fight between Latino and Asian inmates at the Theo Lacy Branch Jail last week led to a small-scale riot that was quickly quelled by deputies, officials said Thursday. Orange County sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said deputies restored order in less than five minutes and no one was injured.

Amormino said the disturbance occurred Oct. 18 after several Latino inmates beat an Asian prisoner. Other Asian prisoners retaliated by attacking a Latino. This prompted deputies to search the cells for weapons, which angered about 100 Latino prisoners, said Amormino.

The Latino prisoners barricaded themselves behind doors, but they were quickly overpowered by about 25 deputies, Amormino said. During the search, deputies recovered six weapons, most of them shanks and “saps” made from bars of soap inside socks, he said.