Anthony Hawkins was 46 years old when he died on Wednesday, September 10, 2008, more than two and a half years after he was attacked inside a Los Angeles County jail in Castaic. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds, and the address recorded for his case was 29340 The Old Road, the location of the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report first described him as "a 46-year-old black man" who was beaten in the 29300 block of The Old Road on Feb. 4, 2006, and died "Wednesday, Sept. 10, authorities said." An update to the entry, published Sept. 23, 2008, explained what had happened. "Hawkins was assaulted and stabbed in a racially motivated inmate disturbance at the Peter Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic in 2006 and was hospitalized," the Times reported.
According to Sgt.
Darren Harris of the Sheriff's Department's Santa Clarita station, Hawkins "remained in the hospital over the past two years until he died Sept. 10 from the serious injuries he suffered in the attack." Harris told the paper that "Homicide detectives are investigating the death to determine what charges might be filed against Hawkins' assailants." The use of the plural suggests that investigators believed more than one inmate took part in the attack.
That is nearly everything the public record holds. The Times entry does not say why Hawkins was in custody, how long he had been held, which part of the jail complex he was in, or how many other inmates were hurt that day. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found. Anthony Hawkins is a common name, and searches turn up many other men who share it across the country, including a man of the same name shot in San Diego in 2007, none of whom can be tied to this death.
The Pitchess Detention Center is a large jail complex run by the Sheriff's Department in Castaic, in the hills of northwestern Los Angeles County beside Interstate 5, north of Santa Clarita. It holds thousands of inmates, many of them awaiting trial, in several separate facilities. In early 2006 the county's jails, Pitchess among them, saw a series of racially charged fights between inmates that drew wide news coverage and led to lockdowns. A killing inside a jail is still a homicide, and the people who saw it are usually other inmates and the deputies who broke it up.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Anthony Hawkins could be found in news archives or public records. Detectives said in 2008 that they were weighing charges against the men who attacked him, but no later report says whether any were filed. More than 17 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was held at or worked at the Pitchess Detention Center in February 2006, or who knew Anthony Hawkins during his long stay in the hospital afterward, may hold information that could help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
