COUNTY JAIL INMATE DEATHS MAY SHOW PATTERN ANTONOVICH CALLS SHERIFF'S LACK OF PROTECTION 'UNACCEPTABLE'.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

At least five Los Angeles County Jail prisoners were killed or beaten in retaliation for testimony against other inmates in the last 18 months, a bloody toll far higher than officials have disclosed in their recent public criticism of the nation's largest jail system.

Two jail house revenge attacks - one of them deadly - have been the focus of county officials and news accounts in recent days.

``It's unacceptable that the sheriff has been unable to protect the safety of inmates in the county jails,'' Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said. ``This kind of failed management has created an intolerable situation.''

But a Daily News review of claims filed with the county - a step required before a lawsuit can be filed - found evidence of additional revenge attacks, which critics and county supervisors say indicate a pattern of management problems and possible wrongdoing by jail employees.

The first widely publicized case involves Santiago Pineda, 23, of Long Beach, charged with capital murder in the slaying of fellow inmate Raul Tinajero, 20, of Wilmington, who testified against him in a murder case. Authorities say Pineda slipped out of his cell at Men's Central Jail the night of April 20 and roamed the jail for five hours before strangling Tinajero in his cell.

The additional cases include:

--Inmate Ki Chul Hong, 33, whose body was found in a laundry basket in the basement of Men's Central Jail on Oct. 21, 2003. He had been stabbed three dozen times and strangled. Hong's brother had testified against a rival gang member and officials suspect Hong was killed in retaliation.

--Martin Davis filed a claim Nov. 7, 2002, alleging that jail deputies, knowing that he just testified against a man who had shot him, placed them together in the same cell and left him there unprotected.

``(The inmate) viciously attacked Davis, and as a result he was left in a pool of blood and unconscious,'' wrote Pasadena attorney Vicki I. Sarmiento.

--Tony Shane Wilson, who testified in a San Fernando Valley murder case on March 25, was attacked by a knife-wielding inmate on March 26 at Men's Central Jail. Prosecutors suspect the attack on Wilson, who required more than 200 stitches, was in retaliation for his testimony.

--Briand Williams, 38, filed a claim against the county April 29 alleging he was attacked after testifying against a murder suspect. ``The Sheriff's Department allowed (an inmate) to come into my cell and try to stab me with five other inmates helping him to jump me, causing physical and emotional injuries,'' Williams wrote.

As a result of the Tinajero case, county supervisors asked Sheriff Lee Baca to oversee multiple investigations to determine what systemic problems have led to such assaults.

The inquiries are being carried out by the Sheriff's Department internal affairs and homicide bureaus, the Office of Independent Review, Special Counsel Merrick Bobb, the District Attorney's Office and the county grand jury.

``We want to get to the bottom of the problems that exist in our jails,'' Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said. ``It will either get fixed on our own account or the U.S. Department of Justice is likely to come in and fix it.''

On Wednesday, Supervisor Gloria Molina asked Baca why deputies weren't checking cells every hour as required under a policy that resulted from the Hong case.

``We know there were four violations of policy, and we also know that things weren't done that were required to be done,'' Baca said. ``So we're not disagreeing on the fact that we made some tremendous mistakes.''

Antonovich said the facts revealed in the Tinajero case are ``extremely disturbing.''

``A grand jury must determine whether collusion or ineptitude was involved to allow this killer to locate and gain access to his victim's cell,'' Antonovich said.

In a wrongful-death claim filed by the victim's mother, Silvia Tinajero, Los Angeles attorney Hermez Moreno wrote that a judge ordered Tinajero placed in protective custody in the jail ``as it was determined and is widely known that inmates who testify against others are targeted for beatings, mutilations, and death by other inmates.''

Despite the judge's explicit order, deputies placed Tinajero in the general population ward of the jail.

``Collusion is something you clearly have to look at,'' Moreno said. ``If it isn't just abject negligence, the only other conclusion is that there was some form of joint conduct.''

Troy Anderson, [phone]

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com