CONTRABAND SEIZED IN STATE PRISON WEAPONS AND DRUGS FOUND.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - A prison-wide search for contraband during a two-week emergency lock-down at the state prison turned up about 18 weapons, predominantly sharp instruments fashioned from scrap metal.

The lock-down, which ended Wednesday, was declared July 4 after guards discovered weapons, drugs and other contraband in cells, the inmate yard and a kitchen.

``There were approximately 18 weapons, stabbing-type weapons. We found excess clothing,'' said Curt Carson, a prison spokesman. ``As far as dangerous weapons, that was the main concern that was the purpose for our searching.''

Some inmates found in violation were placed in administrative segregation lockup, Carson said.

``It's an area where you place inmates while awaiting the disciplinary process,'' Carson said. ``That confines their movement so that they can't continue to traffic or manufacture weapons.''

Inmates in segregated lockup also are limited to noncontact visits, where they talk to visitors only from behind a glass barrier, Carson said.

Penalties could include facing additional criminal charges or transfer to prisons, such as Pelican Bay prison in northern California, that have segregated housing units, ``an area ... constructed in a way for those particular inmates so they can't harm other inmates or staff,'' Carson said.

The number of inmates who face discipline was not available.

The lock-down at the 4,185-inmate California State Prison in Los Angeles County was based on an ongoing investigation into contraband. Prison officials found weapons that could be used in stabbings in the inmate yard on June 21 and hidden inside a light fixture in a kitchen June 22, officials said.

The prison, located on 60th Street West between Avenues J and I, houses minimum- and maximum-security inmates. The minimum-security unit was not under lock-down.

The searches also turned up methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and personal property that inmates are not allowed to possess, such as expensive pump tennis shoes with air pockets in which contraband can be concealed.

Prison officials also found some inmates had painted their concrete floors with a black-checked design, in violation of prison policy, officials said.

During the lock-down, inmates were allowed visits but could not go to the outdoor yard for recreation. They were allowed to shower every 72 hours instead of every day.

Instead of eating in the dining room, inmates were fed in their cells, and activities in the day room and telephone calls were prohibited.

The lock-down was the second called this year. The first was imposed when the prison curtailed is power usage because of the energy crisis, officials said.