BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — An inmate at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi was found guilty Friday of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of his cellmate.
According to court documents, on Feb. 16th, 2018, Joshua Power and his cellmate, Kevin Mansfield, were drinking prison-made alcohol and got into a fight.
Power rendered rendered Mansfield unconscious unconscious and strangled him to death, according to court documents.
Correction officers saw Power punching Mansfield's body during an inmate count and Power refused to obey the officers' commands and resisted their attempts to restrain him, according to court documents.
He was also convicted of assault by a prisoner and resisting an officer with force.
“There are five state prisons located in Kern County, and the Kern County District Attorney’s Office is responsible for the prosecution of all crimes that occur in those prisons, including homicides," said District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer in a statement.
"We seek justice for inmates who are victimized within the walls of state prison and are pleased that the jury delivered a just verdict in this case.”
Power was serving a prison sentence committed 2017 in Tuolumne County for kidnapping, robbery and domestic violence.
Power faces a sentence of 36 years to life in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 12, 2022.
