Inmate Disturbance Unusual, Jailer Says

The disturbance at the Ventura County jail that left one inmate injured and several others facing charges was unusual for the facility, a jail official said Tuesday.

“This is the first time in my memory that we’ve had a multiple-inmate incident,” said Capt. Lance Young, who has worked in the jail off and on since 1985. Young and a jail sergeant are set to retire this month.

“What a send-off the inmates gave us,” Young said.

Eight inmates were in Quad C’s day room about 5:30 p.m. Monday when officers confronted one of them about stealing commissary items, such as candy bars, from another prisoner. When the man resisted and officers tried to handcuff him, several other inmates became belligerent, Young said.

“His friends, in sympathy or in response to it, started acting out,” he said.

When deputies forced the man to the ground to handcuff him, he cut his face on the concrete, Young said. The inmate received several stitches for the cut.

None of the other inmates was injured, nor were any of the 10 or so officers who responded to the brawl in protective vests and helmets. The deputies used pepper spray in their attempt to subdue the first inmate, Young said.

The eight inmates could face internal discipline or charges ranging from conspiracy to battery of a peace officer.

“Right now we’re reviewing the videotape of the incident to determine what charges are appropriate to which inmates,” Young said.

Some of the inmates housed in Quad C are incarcerated for murder and assault, and all are among the jail’s more “recalcitrant” offenders, he added.

“This isn’t the type of inmate that feels like he’s got something to lose,” Young said.