Compton man found dead in Kern Valley State Prison cell
Officials withholding name
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Posted: 03/22/2013
Last Updated:
57 days ago
DELANO, Calif. -
Kern Valley State Prison investigators are working with the Kern County Coroner and District Attorney’s Office to investigate the death of an inmate, which has been classified as a homicide.
Prison staff said they found an inmate, whose name is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification, unresponsive in his cell shortly before 8:00 p.m., on Thursday, March 21. He was declared dead at 8:44 p.m.
The cell and all its contents have been secured and processed as a crime scene.
The deceased inmate’s cellmate, Scott A. Mendez, has been identified as the suspect in the case. Mendez, 41, is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole from Fresno County for first-degree murder. He was received by CDCR on November 24, 1993, and has been housed at KVSP since September 2, 2010.
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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