Gang Task Force investigation identifies Kings County Jail inmate intending to assault Deputy

Kings County Jail officials learned the suspected assaults were to be carried out by gang members currently serving time in the jail and their intent was to assault a specific Kings County Detentions Deputy. This plan was in response to several violent incidents involving Northern gang members inside the Kings County Jail.

Investigators with the Kings County Gang Task Force as well as Detentions Deputies assisted in this complex and difficult investigation. Several interviews with witnesses revealed a plan to assault a specific Detentions Deputy within the jail. The plan also involved possible assaults of this staff member outside the jail, within the community. Through the course of the investigation, several inmate manufactured weapons were located inside the jail intended for use in the assault of jail staff.

Investigators have identified the inmate who orchestrated the assault and set the plan in motion as 35-year-old Angel Hernan Hernandez out of Armona. Hernandez was arraigned in Hanford Superior Court on July 9, 2014, on charges including conspiracy to commit homicide with a gang enhancement and having prior strikes. Bail was set at $1,000,000. Investigators are looking into filing charges in the future against other suspects involved in this case.

When this incident occurred, Hernandez was being held "unsentenced" inside the Kings County Jail pending spousal abuse charges.