BEATEN INMATE AWARDED $44,000 VICTIM WAS PLACED WITH JAIL ASSAILANTS.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer

An Antelope Valley man who was beaten by other inmates three times in Los Angeles County jails and required reconstructive facial surgery will receive $44,000 from Los Angeles County.

Sheriff's deputies failed to keep Anthony White, awaiting trial on a drug charge, segregated from other inmates after he was assaulted the first time in a lockup cell at the Antelope Valley Courthouse by other inmates who had labeled him a ``snitch.''

``All I can say is Anthony was looking for some type of justice from the beating he took from fellow prisoners. At least we achieved that for him,'' White's attorney, Leon Gilbert, said. ``The county has acknowledged that there was some wrongdoing here, and that's why they are paying it.''

The Los Angeles County Claims Board approved the payment Monday to settle White's claim. White, 33, now lives outside Los Angeles County.

The board action does not need approval by county supervisors because it is less than $100,000, officials said.

County attorneys recommended settlement of the matter, saying a potential damage award if the case went to trial could amount to $275,000. White required reconstructive facial surgery because an eye socket was fractured, and he suffered nerve damage to the side of his face. He also will require extensive oral surgery for damage to his teeth, the memo said.

''He got a (reconstructive) plate in his face. They broke the bones in his face,'' Gilbert said.

Arrested in December 2004 on suspicion of drug possession, White was assaulted in the Antelope Valley Courthouse lockup Jan. 6, 2005, Gilbert said.

After the attack, a deputy requested that White be given protective status. White was put in a segregated cell module at Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles, but the next day another deputy concluded that he didn't meet the criteria for protective custody.

White was placed back in the general inmate population at the central jail, and the next day was again assaulted by another inmate.

White was transferred to the Castaic jail's medical dorm due to his injuries. When he was released from the medical dorm after six days, he was placed back into a general population dorm and was again assaulted by other inmates, the memo said.

Another request was submitted by a deputy for White to be assigned protective-custody status. White was housed in a segregated cell at the Castaic jail and the central jail until his release Feb. 13, 2005, the memo said.

White entered a plea to the drug charge and was placed on probation, Gilbert said.

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