3 Merced County jail inmates cut and stabbed during argument among gang members

An argument among Norteno gang members escalated this week at the Merced County Jail with three people sent to the hospital, including one man who was stabbed, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office reported Saturday.

The fight broke out Thursday night in the Norteno cell-block area of the sheriff’s jail on West 22nd Street in Merced, Deputy Daryl Allen said.

The victim, Frank Garcia, 49, was stabbed with a makeshift weapon during an argument with Steven Aguilar and William Green. Deputies described Aguilar as the “primary aggressor.”

According to investigators, all three inmates suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.

“During the investigation, (deputies were) unable to locate the weapon and all three subjects refused to say a weapon was actually used even though they all had wounds consistent with some sort of jail-made weapon,” Allen said.

It’s unclear exactly what the three inmates were arguing about before the fight.

Aguilar, a 33-year-old Livingston man, has a lengthy criminal history in Merced County, including at least one conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm, court and jail records show. He has been in custody since December 2015 after he was carrying a loaded gun and wearing body armor when he was picked by Merced police on a felony warrant.

Green, 32, of Merced was arrested March 22 on suspicion of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, according to jail records. Details of his March arrest were not immediately available.

Details of Garcia’s prior arrest also were unavailable.

It is at least the fourth violent episode at a sheriff’s jail facility in Merced County in June. Inmates have been sent to the hospital in each case. All four incidents have involved Norteno gang members, authorities have said.

An Atwater man in custody on a murder charge stabbed another inmate June 7 about 20 to 30 times, according to deputies. The second attack on June 11 was reported when two men beat another inmate. A third incident was reported June 14 at the John Latorraca Correctional Facility on Sandy Mush Road.

This story was originally published June 24, 2017 at 1:48 PM with the headline "3 Merced County jail inmates cut and stabbed during argument among gang members."