INLAND EMPIRE, CA — An inmate with a tie to Riverside County was found mortally wounded in his cell on Independence Day, and state officials say his death is being investigated as a homicide.
At about 6:21 a.m. July 4, staff at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano discovered Fernando Camarillo-Cervantes, 22, lying on his cell floor and with apparent “serious injuries,” according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
He was pronounced dead a short time later.
In the cell with Camarillo-Cervantes was inmate Albert Gonzalez, 50. He was not wounded, according to CDCR.
Following the alleged slaying, prison officials said Gonzalez was placed in restricted housing pending an investigation. The Kern County coroner will determine Camarillo-Cervantes’ official cause of death.
Camarillo-Cervantes came into the state prison system from Santa Barbara County on September 9, 2022. He was sentenced to 21 years for voluntary manslaughter with an enhancement for the use of a firearm. He was also sentenced to three years for assault with a firearm to be served concurrently with the first sentence.
While incarcerated, he was convicted of possession/manufacture of a deadly weapon by an incarcerated person, an in-prison offense, sentenced by Riverside County on August 1, 2023, to three years.
Gonzalez was most recently returned from parole on September 24, 2019, with a new term from Los Angeles County. He was sentenced to 11 years for carjacking as a second striker with an enhancement for a prior felony conviction of a serious offense.
Gonzalez was also sentenced by San Bernardino County to eight months for attempting to possess or own a firearm as a felon or addict as a second striker. The term is to be served concurrently with the first sentence.
