DELANO, Calif. — Officials at Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) are investigating the attack of an inmate that happened three months ago as a homicide.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), around 8:30 p.m. on March 18, inmate Erik Morales attacked inmate Ryan Galindo while in their assigned cell. CDCR says officers responded to the cell and gave orders for Morales to stop. Morales complied with the orders without the use of force, according to the CDCR.
CDCR says Galindo suffered severe head trauma as a result of the attack and was taken to the prison's Triage and Treatment area. He was then transported to an outside hospital for a higher level of care. CDCR says he remained in a local hospital until he was transported to a long-term care facility.
Around 9:33 a.m. on Tuesday, June 18, Galindo was pronounced dead by a physician at the long-term care facility.
According to the CDCR, 40-year-old Ryan Galindo was received from Fresno County on May 14, 2015, to serve a six-year sentence for being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.
Forty-year-old Erik Morales was received from Los Angeles County on June 9, 2005, to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder.
The CDCR says prison officials are treating Galindo's death as a homicide as they continue their investigation.
