Crime & Safety
Convicted Murderer From Riverside County Killed In Prison Attack
Robert Hargrave, 48, died from wounds suffered in Thursday's attack at Kern Valley State Prison.
DELANO, CA — An investigation was underway Friday into the fatal stabbing of a convicted murderer from Riverside County at a Central California penitentiary.
Guards responding to a fight at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano found a pair of inmates attacking Robert Hargrave, 48, with makeshift weapons about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported.
Guards used chemical agents to halt the assault, according to CDCR public affairs. Medics took Hargrave, who had suffered puncture wounds to his back, chest and abdomen, to a prison medical center. He was later transferred him to an outside hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Hargrave had been incarcerated since May 1994, after being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder.
Arrested on suspicion of killing Hargrave were prisoners Michael Arzaga, 47, and Matthew Thornton, 38.
Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Arzaga was convicted of second-degree murder in 1998 and was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole. Thornton was admitted to the penitentiary north of Bakersfield in 2009 to serve a 19-year sentence for attempted murder. Both had been prosecuted in San Diego County.
A prison investigative unit and the Kern County Sheriff's Office are investigating the alleged slaying.
