Slaying of 'San Quentin 6' member triggers riot at North California prison

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Hugo Pinell was stabbed on Wednesday in the California State Prison yard
It was his first day without special protection in decades, his lawyer said
His death sparked 70-inmate riot, 11 inmates hospitalized with stab wounds
Officers used pepper spray and fired three warning shots to end the fight
Pinell, 71, had been serving life in jail since a rape conviction in 1965
He was famed for his role in the 1971 San Quentin prison break attempt with five others, when he helped to slit the throats of three prison guards
The Nicaragua native was last up for parole in 2009, was denied a 9th time

By Regina F. Graham and Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com

Published: 21:12 EST, 12 August 2015 | Updated: 13:38 EST, 13 August 2015

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A huge riot broke out at a maximum security prison on Wednesday afternoon after an infamous member of the 'San Quentin 6' was killed.

Convicted rapist and murderer Hugo Pinell, 71, was stabbed to death in the exercise yard of California State Prison.

His death at around 1pm triggered a riot that grew to involve about 70 inmates at the facility east of Sacramento.

It came just a day after he was moved from solitary confinement into the general prison population for the first time in decades.

Pinell, who had been incarcerated since 1965, was famed for his role in the failed prison break attempt at San Quentin on August 21, 1971, when he slit the throats of three guards.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

Killed: San Quentin 6 member Hugo Pinell (pictured, left in Jaunary 2014 and, right, in 2001) was stabbed to death on Wednesday afternoon, triggering a 70-inmate riot at California State Prison in east Sacramento

San Quentin Six: Pinell (top center) was famed for his role in the 1971 prison break attempt with five fellow inmates. He is pictured in 1971, aged 30, with the rest of the San Quentin Six (top left and right) Fleeta Drumgo, 30; Luis Talamantez, 22; (bottom L-R) John Larry Spain, 25; David Johnson, 28; Willie Tate, 30

'He was definitely the target,' Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Dana Simas told the Associated Press.

Pinell, who transferred to the 2,300-inmate California State Prison in January 2014, had been in solitary confinement for most of his life until Tuesday due to 'long-standing threats'.

Once dubbed 'the most dangerous man in the California prison system,' the Nicaragua native had become a bounty for prisoners vying for notoriety.

As soon as he was attacked in the exercise yard by his fellow inmate on Wednesday, 'everyone else joined in,' Simas said, including members of multiple prison gangs.

She did not release the name of the inmate who killed Pinell.

Correctional officers first tried using pepper spray to break up the fight. When that didn't work they fired three warning shots.

Eleven inmates were taken to an outside hospital to be treated for stab wounds. They are in a stable condition.

Pinell was first sentenced to life with parole for rape with force in 1964.

On March 3, 1971, he killed Correctional Officer R.J. McCarthey at a prison in Soledad, earning him a second life sentence.

He was then placed in San Quentin, the nation's largest men's prison which has housed Charles Manson and Sirhan Sirhan, assassin of Bobby Kennedy.

Attack: An official says that once Pinell was attacked in the exercise yard, 'everyone else joined in,' including members of multiple prison gangs

Treatment: Officials say that 11 inmates were taken to an outside hospital to be treated for stab wounds

On August 21, 1971, Pinell was involved in a prison break attempt with inmates Willie Tate, Johnny Larry Spain, David Johnson, Fleeta Drumgo, and Luis Talamantez.

Six people were killed in the botched escape: three prison guards and three inmates, including George Jackson, and Black Panther leader and founder of the nationwide prison gang Black Guerrilla Family, who was shot as he tried to join the escape.

Pinell helped to slit the throats of three prison guards using a knife made of razor blades embedded in a toothbrush handle.

One of the guards, Correctional Officer Urbano Rubiaco Jr, survived the brazen attack and later testified against Pinell in the 16-month trial, which cost California $2 million. The trial was the longest in the state's history.

'He said "I love you pigs" and then he cut my throat,' Rubiaco told a jury.

Pinell was handed a third life-with-parole sentence.

Killing sparks 70-inmate riot at New Folsom Prison

Brawl: Guards used pepper spray and also fired three warning shots to break up the massive prison brawl

New Folsom: California State Prison Sacramento (above) is known as New Folsom to distinguish it from Folsom State Prison, which is located nearby

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.

It is believe his lawyer, Stephen Bingham, smuggled the gun through security and handed it to Jackson in a private meeting room.

Pinell was last up for parole in 2009, but he was denied for a ninth time.

Prisoners remained locked in their cells as officers investigated Wednesday's disturbance.

The prison commonly called New Folsom houses more than 2,300 maximum-security inmates in Folsom, a suburb about 25 miles east of the state capital.

THE INFAMOUS 1971 SAN QUENTIN PRISON ESCAPE ATTEMPT

Incarcerated: William 'Willie' Tate (above) is the only member of the 'San Quentin Six' still in prison

On August 21, 1971, a group of six inmates tried to escape from the San Quentin State Prison in California.

Inmates Hugo Pinell, Willie Tate, Johnny Larry Spain, David Johnson, Fleeta Drumgo and Luis Talamantez were accused of participating in the August 21, 1971 escape attempt from the San Quentin State Prison in California.

Black Guerrilla Family Prison gang found George Jackson’s attorney, Stephen Bingham, smuggled a 9-mm pistol into the prison for his client.

Jackson was able to hide the gun inside of his six-inch-high Afro hairdo without it being detected by guards who searched him when he returned from the visit.

Prison guards testified that Jackson started the brazen escape attempt when he fatally shot two correctional officers.

Jackson, a Black Panther leader, was fatally shot as he ran toward an outside prison wall.

Pinell used a knife made of razor blades embedded in a toothbrush handle to slash Correctional Officer Urbano Rubiaco Jr. in the neck.

Rubiaco, who was one of two guards taken hostage by 25 inmates that were released from their cells, survived the brazen attack and later testified against Pinell.

'He said `I love you pigs' and then he cut my throat,' Rubiaco said while testifying.

The Associated Press reported that Correctional Sgt. Frank McCray testified that he and other guards were blindfolded, bound and piled into a cell.

McCray said his throat was also cut while other guards were shot and strangled during the incident.

Prison guards Paul E. Krasenes, 52, Frank DeLeon, 44, and Jere P. Graham, 39, in addition to inmates John Lynn, 29, and Ronald L. Kane, 28, were all tortured and killed that day.

Mourners give the Black Panther salute as the casket of George Jackson is carried from St. Augustine's Church in Oakland, California. Jackson, a Black Panther, was killed during the San Quentin Six escape