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| Inmate in coma after beating at Calif. jail |
| By Los Angeles Times |
| Published: 05/25/2004 |
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A 19-year-old man at the Los Angeles County jail in Castaic, Calif., was comatose and in grave condition Monday after being severely beaten by four fellow detainees, authorities said. Anthony Fernandez of Pico Rivera was kicked and punched in the head and upper body Saturday afternoon in a 98-inmate, dormitory-style jail room at Pitchess Detention Center, said Deputy Scott Butler, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The incident occurred four days after Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley intensified scrutiny of the 18,000-inmate county jail system with the announcement of a task force that would probe five killings that have occurred since Oct. 21 at downtown L.A. jails. While Cooley is particularly concerned by recent attacks meant to intimidate or retaliate against witnesses, the Pitchess beating appears unrelated to any upcoming criminal testimony, Sheriff's Capt. Ray Peavy said. Rather, it was "strictly an in-custody, in-house disagreement among inmates that resulted in violence," Peavy said. The Sheriff's Department, which runs the county jail system, will conduct a routine internal affairs investigation to determine whether deputies violated any department rules in their handling of the incident, said Cmdr. John Vander Horck, who oversees the 6,300-inmate Pitchess Detention Center. The victim, who is serving a 180-day sentence for carrying a concealed kitchen knife, remained hospitalized Monday. Steve Whitmore, senior media advisor to Sheriff Lee Baca, said Fernandez was "near death" at one point. On Monday, Whitmore said the inmate was still in a coma, but hospital officials believed he would survive. |
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