Inmate Dies Following Attack In Salinas Valley State Prison Rec Yard

MONTEREY COUNTY, CA – Two inmates allegedly attacked another inmate who died at Salinas Valley State Prison on Saturday morning, state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials said Monday.

The inmate who died was a 36-year-old man whose name won't be released until his next of kin is notified, state prison officials said.

The suspects are Brant Daniel, 42, and Leonard Dunning, 57, who allegedly attacked the victim in a recreation yard with an inmate-made weapon around 9:40 a.m. Saturday, according to state prison officials.

Prison staff used pepper spray grenades in an attempt to end the attack and medical personnel provided aid to the victim, who was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead about an hour later, state prison officials
said.

Both suspects are both serving sentences of life without the possibility of parole in separate cases, according to state prison officials.

Daniel was convicted of first-degree attempted murder out of Sacramento County and has been at the facility since Dec. 13, state prison officials said.

Dunning, who has been in state prison since April 7, 1994, was convicted of second-degree murder from Los Angeles County and is also serving four years for a 2009 battery against a non-prisoner in Imperial County,
state prison officials said.

Authorities from the prison, Monterey County District Attorney's Office and state Office of the Inspector General are conducting an investigation into the death, which has been classified as a homicide, state
prison officials said.

The all-male prison that houses about 3,700 inmates is located east of U.S. Highway 101 and about 5 miles north of Soledad.

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--Bay City News/Image via California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation