Cellmate is suspect in Corcoran prison death

The death of an inmate at Corcoran state prison is being investigated as a homicide, and his cellmate is the suspect, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Wednesday.

At 4:31 p.m. Tuesday, prison staff members were called to a cell where they found a 43-year-old inmate unconscious.

Officials tried to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead at 5:24 p.m. at the prison medical facility. His name is being withheld pending notification of his family.

His cellmate has been placed in the prison’s administrative segregation unit while the death is investigated. Officials did not release his name but said he is 36 years old and is considered a suspect.

He is originally from Kings County and was sent to Corcoran in 2009 to serve a sentence of 70 years to life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder.

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.

Corcoran prison opened in 1988 and houses about 3,400 inmates.

This story was originally published August 3, 2016 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Cellmate is suspect in Corcoran prison death."