COALINGA, Calif. (FOX26) — California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials are investigating the death of an inmate on Saturday.
Pleasant Valley State Prison staff responded to an incident inside one of the dorm rooms involving inmates Brion E. Spidle, Jorge Ortega, and Victor Wence a bit after 2 p.m.
Spidle was found unconscious after being knocked to the ground.
Despite immediate life-saving measures, Spidle succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 2:33 p.m.
No weapon was recovered, and no staff or additional inmates were injured.
Officers identified Ortega and Wence as the suspected assailants and secured them without incident.
They were placed in restricted housing pending an investigation.
The Office of the Inspector General was notified, and the Fresno County coroner will determine Spidle’s official cause of death.
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Spindle,41-years-old, was received from Shasta County on June 2, 2025.
He was sentenced to four years for corporal injury on specific persons resulting in a traumatic condition.
Ortega, 51-years-old, was received from Stanislaus County on Feb. 20, 2025.
He was sentenced to six years for assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury as a second striker and vehicle theft as a second striker.
Wence, 43-year-old, was received from Los Angeles County on Feb. 16, 2023.
He was sentenced to 10 years for second-degree robbery as a second striker.