7 Inmates Injured in Saugus Jail Fight

Seven inmates were injured, two requiring hospital treatment for superficial stab wounds, during a brief melee at the Pitchess Honor Rancho in Saugus, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said Wednesday.

Inmate Cruz Moreno, 31, was charged with assault to commit great bodily injury after he allegedly attacked inmates with a handmade knife with a 3-inch blade, said Deputy John Ashley.

Moreno is awaiting trial on a murder charge and was being held in the jail’s maximum-security facility when the fight broke out about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in a dorm-like room, Ashley said.

Moreno allegedly stabbed two inmates in the back, neck and shoulders. Five other inmates were treated at the jail for injuries they suffered in the fight, Ashley said.

Deputies quelled the fight after about three minutes. In addition to the knife, they recovered a 5-inch, plastic toothbrush that had been melted down to a point, Ashley said.