Original Article County to pay $700,000 to mother of strangled inmate Associated Press Jul. 7, 2005 07:40 AM LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County agreed to pay $700,000 to the mother of a jail inmate who was strangled in his cell after he testified against another inmate in a murder case. Raul Tinajero, 20, was found dead on his cot on April 20, 2004, five weeks after a judge ordered him isolated from other inmates for his safety. Silvia Tinajero originally sought more than $35 million in her lawsuit, which alleged negligence and a violation of her son's civil rights, according to court papers filed Wednesday in the settlement. Tinajero, a convicted car thief, testified that he saw a neighbor, Santiago Pineda, 23, kill a man by running over him with his car. Sheriff Lee Baca said at the time that he believed Pineda managed to find his way to Tinajero's cell and kill him. Pineda has since been charged with Tinajero's murder. Tinajero was one of five inmates killed during a string of attacks by fellow jail inmates. Twenty-five Sheriff's Department employees were disciplined for violating policies that may have contributed to the deaths.