A death row inmate was bludgeoned to death by three other inmates at a Southern California prison, officials said.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Thursday that Alberto Martinez was killed at Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County. His death is being investigated as a homicide.
Another inmate, Tyler A. Rua, was seen by prison staff punching Martinez, knocking him to the ground, and then continuing to punch him. Lu eventually separated from Martinez, but two other inmates, Jorge D. Negrete-Larios and Luis J. Beltrán, began punching Martinez as he lay motionless on the ground.
Staff then used pepper spray and batons to stop the assault. Two imprisoned manufactured weapons were discovered at the scene.
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Alberto Martinez was bludgeoned to death by three other inmates in a California prison. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
Martinez's injuries were consistent with a manufactured weapon for which he was incarcerated. There were no injuries to staff or other inmates.
Paramedics were called to the scene, and medical staff performed life-saving measures on Martinez. He was taken to the prison's treatment area, where he was pronounced dead at 2:20 p.m.
Movement is restricted in the garden where the attack is said to have taken place.
Rua, Negrete-Larios and Beltran were moved to restricted housing pending an investigation into the incident.
Martinez, 46, was found guilty of first-degree murder on Aug. 17, 2010, by Orange County. He was also sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for attempted first-degree murder with an enhancement for street gang activity and two years in prison for street gang activity, to be served concurrently with his conviction.
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Tyler A. Rua, Jorge D. Negrete-Larios, and Luis J. Beltran are accused of killing Alberto Martinez. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
According to reports, he served as a getaway driver in a failed plot to kidnap and kill a businessman. orange county register. The plot was reportedly orchestrated by the businessman's sister.
According to Los Angeles TimesMartinez was a powerful member of the Mexican Mafia, and while on death row, he orchestrated the murder and used a banned cellphone to communicate with a woman from Mexico.
Rua, 25, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for attempted second-degree murder with a firearms enhancement, which was received from San Bernardino County on January 31, 2019. While incarcerated, he was sentenced to an additional two years in prison for possession of a controlled substance.
Negrete Larios, 33, was sentenced to 32 years in prison on July 5, 2016, for attempted second-degree murder with serious bodily injury, firearm removal and street gang activity. Sentenced to 1 month. The commission of a violent felony.
Beltran, 31, received a non-parole charge from Los Angeles County on April 6, 2023, for first-degree murder with an enhancement for intentional discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury or death and possession of a firearm with intent to injure. was sentenced to life imprisonment. A felon.
There were no injuries to staff or other inmates. (St. Petersburg)
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There are a total of 623 convicted inmates in California prisons, according to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
In 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed an executive order creating a moratorium on the death penalty in the Golden State. The order also called for an end to the state's lethal injection protocol and the immediate closure of the state's death chamber at San Quentin State Prison.
The last execution in California took place in 2006.
