Benicia Killer Under Investigation After Cellmate Found Dead In Prison: Officials

BENICIA, CA — An inmate convicted of killing a Benicia man in 2018 is under investigation following the death of his cellmate at a Central Valley correctional facility, officials said.

Derek Dunlap, 34, was placed in restricted housing after his cellmate, Louis Jackson, 62, was found unresponsive Saturday morning at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Corcoran, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

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Prison staff discovered Jackson at approximately 6:46 a.m. Saturday and called 911 while providing emergency aid. Paramedics pronounced him dead at 7:12 a.m., according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The department is investigating Jackson's death as a homicide. The prison's Investigative Services Unit and the Kings County District Attorney's Office are handling the investigation. The Office of the Inspector General was also notified.

Dunlap was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in September 2023 for the first-degree murder of Alexander Lind, 28, of Benicia. Lind was fatally stabbed in February 2018.

Jackson received a life sentence with the possibility of parole in 1996 for possessing a deadly weapon in prison. He had previously been sentenced to four years for second-degree burglary.

The Substance Abuse Treatment Facility houses approximately 5,200 incarcerated men across multiple security levels and employs about 2,000 staff members.