Inmate From San Diego County Dies at Corcoran State Prison

CORCORAN, CA — The death of inmate from San Diego County at California State Prison, Corcoran is being investigated as a possible homicide, officials with the prison said Wednesday.

The 43-year-old inmate, whose identity was not released pending notification of his next of kin, was found unconscious in his cell just after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Lifesaving measures were initiated, but he was pronounced dead at 5:24 p.m. at the medical facility of the prison located in Kings County.

Corcoran officials have named the victim’s cellmate, 36, as a suspect. He has been placed in the prison’s Administrative Segregation Unit pending the outcome of the investigation.

The victim was serving a seven-year sentence out of San Diego County for robbery with a firearm. He later served time for possession of a controlled substance, marijuana possession, assault by a prisoner with a deadly weapon or force likely to cause great bodily injury, and conspiracy to commit a crime as a second striker in prison.

The suspect was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in 2009 from Kings County to serve a sentence of 70 years to life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder.

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