Member of infamous 'San Quentin 6' killed in Folsom prison riot

KXTV-News 10 | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption 'San Quentin 6' member killed in Calif. prison fight Hugo Pinell was killed at California State Prison in Sacramento after a fight involving around 100 inmates. Video provided by Newsy

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An inmate who was involved in a violent 1971 San Quentin escape attempt was killed, sparking a riot at the state prison in Folsom, Calif. Wednesday afternoon.

Hugo Pinell, 71, was attacked in the exercise yard by a fellow prisoner and "everyone else joined in," California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Dana Simas said.

"He was definitely the target," Simas said.

The attack escalated into a riot involving about 70 inmates, including members of multiple prison gangs and "inmate-made weapons."

Eleven inmates had serious enough stab wounds to be taken to outside hospitals for treatment, while others are being treated at the prison's on-site medical unit.

The inmates who were involved with the fight could face possible felony charges.

Officers used pepper spray and at least two warning shots in their efforts to subdue the fighting. No staff was injured during the incident.

Forty-four years ago, Pinell helped slit the throats of San Quentin prison guards during an escape attempt that led to the deaths of three guards, two inmate trustees and escape ringleader George Jackson, who was fatally shot as he ran toward an outside prison wall, according to Associated Press stories.

Jackson was a Black Panther leader, founder of the Black Guerrilla Family prison gang, and author of the 1970 book Soledad Brother, written after he and other inmates were accused in the slaying of a Soledad prison guard in January 1970.

Guards testified that Jackson started the escape attempt when he pulled a smuggled 9-mm pistol from under his six-inch-high Afro hairdo and fatally shot two correctional officers.

Correctional Officer Urbano Rubiaco Jr. survived to later testify that Pinell used a knife made of razor blades embedded in a toothbrush handle to slash Rubiaco's neck.

"He said 'I love you pigs' and then he cut my throat," Rubiaco said. He was one of two guards taken hostage by 25 inmates who were released from their cells during the escape attempt.

California State Prison, Sacramento, often called "new Folsom prison", is a maximum-security prison that houses about 2,300 inmates.

Contributing: The Associated Press