The Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — An inmate in an Orange County jail was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years to life in prison for his role in the fatal gang beating and sexual assault of a fellow inmate who prisoners had incorrectly identified as a child molester, Orange County prosecutors said.
Stephen Paul Carlstron, 44, had been found guilty last year of second-degree murder for the October 2006 death of John Chamberlain, who was in custody at Theo Lacy Jail in Orange on misdemeanor charges of possessing child pornography, prosecutors said.
The case had a broader significance, as it was part of allegations of rampant abuse in Orange County jails. According to grand jury testimony obtained by The Times, Chamberlain was brutally attacked while the nearest guard watched television and sent personal text messages. It wasn’t until an inmate stood in front of the guard station, waving his arms, that deputies realized something was wrong.
Prosecutors said Carlstrom was dispatched by a so-called “shot-caller” in a white prison gang to confront Chamberlain and find out why he was incarcerated.
Full story: Inmate sentenced in notorious O.C. jail beating death