By Savannah Dewberry, Karisa Cortez, and Annika Sial
SACRAMENTO, CA – Confusion over who started a fight between two inmates at California State Prison, Sacramento, dominated discussion in Sacramento County Superior Court, Dept. 31 this past Tuesday.
Defense attorney Paul Contreras insisted either inmate could be at fault, but Deputy District Attorney Spencer Rajabzadeh claimed otherwise.
The court, in the end, decided the case should go to trial.
Inmate Kenneth Neal Hammond, Jr, 37, has been at California State Prison, Sacramento, since 2011, and is charged with attempted murder.
On the afternoon of Jan. 23, 2020, Prison Officer Robert Masterson witnessed a fight between Hammond and a fellow inmate. Masterson did not witness the fight break out, but was part of the group needed to break up the altercation.
The prison observation tower fired less-lethal 40 mm rounds during the brawl, while Masterson and another guard deployed blast grenades as they shouted at the pair to stop.
Masterson noted that Hammond appeared to be underneath the other inmate during the fight, but was unclear if he was pinned down or not.
While Hammond was on the ground, he allegedly used a weapon to repeatedly stab the victim, according to Rajabzadeh, which was reflected by wounds sustained by the victim on his chest and back.
As a result, Hammond also faces charges for committing assault and possessing a weapon while in state prison.
Rajabzadeh also claimed that Hammond’s use of force was sufficient to prove that the assault was likely premeditated.
“We know that he was attempting to kill the victim because, even as the guards attempted to intervene… Mr. Hammond continued his attack until he was physically unable to do so,” Rajabzadeh said.
Defense counsel Contreras, however, argued that there was not sufficient evidence to prove that the attack was premeditated, because it is unclear how the altercation began.
“I don’t believe that any evidence was presented to the court as to what initiated the altercation between the two men,” Contreras said. “Whether it was one person being the aggressor or the other, or whether it was mutual combat.”
He continued by adding, “We do know from the testimony that all inmates are searched and they’re run through a metal detector prior to being released onto the yard. We don’t know where the weapon came from and I believe it is unclear… who the initial person was that was in possession of the weapon.”
Prosecutor Rajabzadeh pointed out that Officer Masterson said he watched the video and believed the altercation was unprovoked and “…would not arise to the level of self-defense.”
Judge Gerrit Woods ruled that there is sufficient cause—the bar is very low to reach this conclusion in a preliminary hearing—to believe that Hammond is guilty. Hammond entered a plea of not guilty.
Judge Woods set a trial readiness conference for Oct. 22, 9 a.m. in Dept. 4, and trial Nov. 1 in Dept. 9.
Savannah Dewberry is a student at the University of San Francisco. She is pursuing a Media Studies major with a minor in Journalism. Savannah Dewberry is an East Bay native and currently lives in San Francisco.
Karisa Cortez is an incoming fourth year Politics major with minors in history and media studies at the University of San Francisco. She is from San Jose, CA and is currently living in San Francisco.
Annika Sial is a senior at UCLA majoring in English and minoring in Conservation Biology. She is from Orange County, CA.
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