Inmate sentenced for arson in CIM riot

CHINO -- An inmate who helped set fire to a barracks during a riot two years ago at the California Institution for Men was sentenced today to six years in prison, a prosecutor said.

Caris Lynn McDougald, 25, pleaded guilty in March to a felony count of unlawfully causing a fire. The plea came as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

McDougald was sentenced by Judge Gerard Brown in Chino Superior Court.

According to testimony at a preliminary hearing last year, McDougald added paper and other flammable materials to a barracks set ablaze during the Aug. 8, 2009 riot.

The barracks, Joshua Hall, was destroyed. Its replacement cost was measured at $1.66 million, according to testimony from prison officials at the preliminary hearing.

More than 300 inmates were injured in about 12 hours of rioting, which was called a "racial disturbance" in a police report.

Deputy District Attorney Anil Kaushal said McDougald is the only inmate who has been charged with a crime by the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office for participating in the riot.

However, about 75 inmates were charged internally by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in connection with the riot, Kaushal said.