FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. – Officials are investigating the death of an inmate from Shasta County at Pleasant Valley State Prison. Brion Spidle was found unconscious on January 17, 2026, and died 30 minutes later.
Spidle was discovered on the floor in the dayroom of the prison’s minimum support facility around 2 p.m. on Saturday. He was serving a four-year sentence for corporal injury on a person.
Brion Spidle of Shasta County was killed at Pleasant Valley State Prison (CDCR photo)
Authorities identified Jorge Ortega and Victor Wence as suspects in the incident. Both are now in restricted housing as the investigation continues. No weapon was found at the scene.
Jorge Ortega and Victor Wence are suspected of the homicide of an inmate inside Pleasant Valley Prison in Coalinga (CDCR photos)
Ortega was serving a six-year sentence for assault, while Wence was serving a 10-year sentence for second-degree robbery, his second strike.
Spidle’s partner, Brittany, shared her grief and some photos of her husband. “He was a devoted father,” she said. Brittany expressed concerns about the prison’s security during the attack and emphasized that Spidle was supposed to be in a minimum-security facility.
Brittany also mentioned that Spidle had planned to take his GED test, which could have led to his release in March. She intends to hire an attorney and wants the autopsy conducted in Shasta County to understand what happened.