Pictured: Joshua Hall after the riot.
CHINO -- An inmate at the California Institution for Men has pleaded guilty to a felony for helping to set fire to a barracks in the Aug. 8, 2009 riot at the prison.
Caris Lynn McDougald, 25, pleaded guilty Friday in Chino Superior Court to a count of unlawfully causing a fire. A trial in his case was under way, with a jury seated Thursday to hear the case.
McDougald's guilty plea was entered as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors that carries a six-year prison sentence, said Deputy District Attorney Anil Kaushal. McDougald is scheduled to be sentenced May 2.
A correctional officer testified during a preliminary hearing last year that he saw McDougald add paper and other flammable material to a fire that was set at Joshua Hall, which was destroyed in the blaze. The hall will cost about $1.66 million to replace, according to testimony.
The officer, Lee Rogers, testified that he recognized McDougald by his distinctive dreadlocks. Rogers said he saw other inmates adding material to the fire but was unable to identify them.
More than 300 inmates were injured in the riot -- dubbed a "racial disturbance" in a police report -- which lasted 12 hours after being sparked the evening of Aug. 8, 2009.