Prison officials found an improvised weapon after about 30 inmates joined an assault on a convicted murderer.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is investigating after a death row inmate died Friday at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano.
Convicted murderer Mario Renteria, 36, reportedly began beating fellow inmate Julian Mendez, 46, around 10:30 a.m., prompting staff to intervene.
Officers ordered both men to get down, but they did not comply, according to a CDCR news release obtained by Fox News Digital.
Chemical agents initially stopped the attack, but over 30 other inmates rushed Renteria and started striking him.
When orders to stop were ignored, staff deployed multiple blast grenades to control the violence, CDCR said.
Mendez suffered multiple wounds, and life-saving measures were immediately taken. He was moved to the prison’s triage and treatment area, where a doctor declared him dead at 11:05 a.m.
Officials found an improvised weapon at the scene, but its exact type was unclear.
Renteria remains in restricted housing pending the investigation, CDCR confirmed.
To assist the investigation by the prison’s Investigative Services Unit and the Kern County District Attorney’s Office, officials limited inmate movement.
The Office of the Inspector General was notified, and the Kern County Coroner will determine Mendez’s official cause of death.
Mendez arrived from Riverside County on Dec. 2, 2004. He was sentenced to death in 2002 for the first-degree murder of two teenagers, according to CDCR.
Renteria was transferred from Riverside County on April 27, 2022. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder (a third-strike offense) and arson.
Kern Valley State Prison opened in 2005 and holds over 3,100 inmates in minimum and high-security custody.
