A convict serving time for murder was viciously attacked and killed by three other inmates in a California prison, authorities have revealed. Alberto Martinez, aged 46, was assaulted by three inmates at Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County, as disclosed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in a statement on Friday.
The incident occurred at approximately 1:23 pm when Tyler Lua, 25, allegedly initiated the attack by striking Martinez, causing him to fall to the ground. Subsequently, two other inmates, Jorge Negrete-Larios, 33, and Luis Beltran, 31, joined in by assaulting Martinez while he was immobile.
Prison staff intervened using pepper spray and a baton to halt the confrontation and administered life-saving procedures on Martinez. Despite their efforts, Martinez was pronounced dead about an hour later. A coroner will determine the exact cause of death, with no other individuals sustaining injuries during the altercation.
Officials discovered “two incarcerated-manufactured weapons” at the scene. The motive behind the attack remains unclear, and the three accused inmates have been moved to “restricted housing pending an investigation,” according to the CDCR.
Martinez had been incarcerated since 2014 after being convicted of first-degree murder. Despite initially being on death row, Martinez was transferred to the general prison population following a moratorium on executions in 2019 by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The three suspects each have a history of violent crimes; Tyler Lua is serving a sentence for attempted second-degree murder, Jorge Negrete-Larios is serving time for attempted second-degree murder with various enhancements, and Luis Beltran is serving a life sentence without parole for first-degree murder.
This tragic incident occurred four years after another inmate was fatally stabbed at the same prison. Joseph Martinez, aged 21, serving a lengthy sentence for attempted first-degree murder, was killed in February 2020.
Calipatria State Prison accommodates both minimum and maximum-security prisoners and houses over 2,600 individuals, according to California prison authorities. The circumstances surrounding the attack on Alberto Martinez and the subsequent investigation continue to unfold as authorities delve deeper into the case.