3rd Inmate Death Reported This Week In Riverside County

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — An investigation was underway Thursday into the death of an inmate at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside. The fatality marks the third inmate death this week and at least 13 inmate deaths over the last four-and-a-half months tied to Riverside County jails.

Deputies responded to a cell in Riverside detention center at 6:53 p.m. Wednesday for the unresponsive male inmate, according to Correctional Captain Victoria Varisco-Flores from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Varisco-Flores said that jail medical staff and custody staff administered life-saving measures on the man until Riverside City Fire and American Medical Personnel took over, but he was pronounced dead at 7:26 p.m.

The cause of his death was not immediately known, but authorities say there was no sign of foul play.

The name and age of the man were not immediately released.

A 41-year-old man awaiting a retrial in the slaying of a retired Palm Springs art dealer was killed in jail, allegedly by a fellow inmate at the Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, authorities said Wednesday.

Rodney Ronald Sanchez, 61, is accused of killing Kaushal Niroula during a jailhouse altercation Tuesday, according to Sgt. Richard Carroll of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Carroll said Niroula was found unconscious at about 2:35 p.m. Tuesday, prompting correctional personnel to administer medical aid before paramedics showed up. Despite those efforts, Niroula was pronounced dead. A cause of death was not released.

Niroula was awaiting a retrial for the December 2008 murder of Clifton Lambert, a 74-year-old retired art dealer who was fatally stabbed in the kitchen of his Palm Springs home.

According to prosecutors, Niroula posed as an attorney representing a wealthy New York family that had purportedly left Lambert money or valuable artwork in a will.

When Niroula was at Lambert's home, he allegedly let two others into the house. One grabbed Lambert and held him at knifepoint in the kitchen, while the other fatally stabbed the victim, Deputy District Attorney Lisa DiMaria told jurors.

She said Niroula brought bedding into the kitchen so they could wrap up the body, while the other two cleaned up the blood.

Niroula and three others were convicted and sentenced to life prison terms, but their convictions were overturned on appeal based on defense allegations of misconduct by the original trial judge, David Downing.

Sanchez was in custody on suspicion of aggravated sexual assault on a minor, authorities said. He was being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Another inmate at Cois Byrd Detention Center was found dead over the weekend, authorities said.

The male inmate was found unresponsive and pronounced dead around 1 a.m. Saturday, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Jail staff and Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department personnel reportedly administered life-saving measures, which were unsuccessful.

There were no signs of foul play, officials said.

The inmate's identity was not released, pending notification of next of kin.

A Riverside County inmate also died Aug. 28 after being hospitalized, authorities announced.

On Aug. 16, deputies found the man in need of medical attention inside a housing unit at Banning's Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Medical staff at the correctional facility determined the inmate needed to be taken to a hospital.

The man's health continued to decline at the hospital and he died Saturday, the department said. His identity was not released pending notification of next of kin.

Investigators from the Corrections Intelligence Bureau and the Riverside County Coroner's Bureau were investigating the death. No further information was available.

Another inmate at the Cois Byrd Detention Center died in his cell Aug. 25, and the cause was under investigation.

The man, whose identity was not released, was found unconscious about 4:28 a.m., prompting correctional personnel to administer CPR, according to Capt. David Holm with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

He said that Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire personnel were summoned and arrived a short time later, continuing life-saving measures.

"Despite these efforts, the inmate was pronounced deceased at 5:08 a.m. Thursday," Holm said. "There are no signs of foul play."

An autopsy on the inmate was pending.

Read more about other Riverside County inmate deaths reported since late April.

—Patch Editor Toni McAllister and City News Service contributed to this report.