Inmate's Death At Corcoran Believed To Be Possible Homicide

CORCORAN (CBSLA.com) – Authorities are investigating the death of an inmate at California State Prison, Corcoran (COR) as a possible homicide.

At 4:31 p.m. Tuesday,  staffers were called to a cell where they found a 43-year-old inmate unconscious. Lifesaving measures were initiated, but the inmate was pronounced dead about an hour later.

His name is being withheld pending notification of his next-of-kin.

Officials have named the dead man's cellmate, 36, as a suspect. He has been placed in the prison's Administrative Segregation Unit pending the outcome of the investigation.

The suspect was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) in 2009 from Kings County 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

California State Prison, Corcoran opened in 1988 and houses approximately 3,400 minimum-, medium-maximum and high-security custody inmates.