Convicted Killer Found Dead At San Quentin State Prison​

SAN QUENTIN, CA – A San Quentin State Prison death row inmate from Santa Clara County was pronounced dead Monday, prison spokesman Lt. Sam Robinson said.

Herminio Serna, 53, died of unknown causes pending an autopsy, Robinson said.

Update: 2nd Death Row Inmate Found Dead In 2 Days At San Quentin

Serna was sentenced to death by a Santa Clara County jury on Nov. 21, 1997, for the murders of Esteban Guzman, Marcos Baca and Sheila Apodaca.

Serna's crime partners James Trujeque, 66, and Bobby Lopez Jr., 53, also were sentenced to death for a series of gang-related murders in the San Jose area, Robinson said.

Serna has been on death row since Nov. 26, 1997. His death is one of three death row inmates whose cause of death is pending, Robinson said.

There are 741 inmates on California's death row. Seventy-nine condemned inmates have died of natural causes, 25 have committed suicide, 13 have been executed in California and 11 have died of other causes, Robinson said.

By Bay City News Service

Photo courtesy of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation