Jury deliberations will continue in the trial of Donald Bottoms, Christopher Shrauger, Steven Burns and Christopher Crews, four inmates charged with murder and conspiracy in a race riot that left a Black inmate dead at a county jail facility in Castaic recently. Four other inmates, David Reynoso, Osbaldo Valenzuela, Enrique Reyes and Andres Madrigal, are also charged.
The race riot began on the afternoon of Feb. 4, 2006, at the North County Correctional Facility, when White and Hispanic inmates began attacking Black inmates. Officials said at least 300 men were involved in the fight, which took more than an hour for authorities to break up.
In the midst of the mayhem, 45-year-old Wayne Tiznor was killed and 46 more inmates were injured.
The four-page indictment chronicled what prosecutors say happened the day of the riot.
Among other things, the indictment alleges that:
*On or about Feb. 2 or Feb. 3, 2006, Crews and Bottoms, both White, approached another inmate and told him that when the riot started, he needed to join White and Hispanic inmates in fighting Black inmates.
*On Feb. 4 at about 3:15 p.m., inmates, who were members of the Los Angeles Southsider Street Gang, yelled to other Southsiders to start rioting against Black inmates.
*During the riot, White and Hispanic inmates, including Burns, Bottoms and Madrigal attacked Tiznor, kicking him and smashing a metal bunk bed on his head.
*Reynoso threw his body on the bunk bed as it crushed Tiznor’s head and upper body.
*During the attack, Crews yelled, “Kill him.” Another inmate heard rioters yelling, “kill the n—–s.”
*Reyes prevented Black inmates from coming to Tiznor’s aid and directed other Hispanic inmates to “Keep them Black m—-rf—–s in the corner.”
In the weeks after the riot, Sheriff Lee Baca had the inmates segregated by race to prevent any further fighting.
According to Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, if convicted, the eight men could each be sentenced to life in prison. The hate crime allegation carries a life-without-parole sentence.
