3 Deputies Hurt in Jail Inmates’ Attack

Three sheriff’s deputies were injured early Wednesday after inmates, one armed with a metal shank, attacked them in Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail.

The melee began about 4:30 a.m. in a holding cell at the Inmate Reception Center, Capt. Ray Leyva said. As a deputy opened the door to let some inmates inside, at least three inmates rushed out and attacked that deputy and two others in the area.

At least one deputy received cuts to the head and the face. The three deputies were treated at a hospital and released, Leyva said.

One of the inmates, Armando Guerra, 24, was due in court to face charges of assaulting an LAPD officer. Another, Vincent Ramos, 22, is charged with attempted murder in Long Beach. The third inmate, Juan Falcon, 19, was arrested on suspicion of a carjacking in Huntington Park, Leyva said.

All three are suspected of belonging to the same gang, he said.

The three inmates received minor injuries during the scuffle.

“We’re trying to find their motive for the attack,” Leyva said.

“Was this a planned attack against deputies, or a planned escape?” he said. Attacks are an ever-present danger in the jail system, Leyva said.

Each day, about 2,000 inmates with court dates are fed and then held as they await buses to court.