A homicide investigation was launched early Saturday after a 66-year-old inmate was found dead in his cell at an Otay Mesa state prison, officials said.
Hector Ozuna was found unresponsive at 6:07 a.m. Saturday inside his cell at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.
Ozuna’s cellmate, 30-year-old Alexis Guerrero, was put into restricted housing pending an investigation by the facility’s Investigative Services Unit and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, the statement said.
No manufactured weapons were found at the scene, the CDCR stated.
“Staff immediately responded and continued lifesaving measures on Ozuna as they transferred him to the prison’s triage and treatment area,” the statement said. Ozuna was pronounced dead shortly before 7 a.m.
The Office of the Inspector General was notified, and the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine Ozuna’s cause of death.
Ozuna was received from Riverside County on Feb. 17, 2023. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for assault with a deadly weapon — a third strike, which included a sentence-enhancement of a violent felony intended to inflict great bodily injury.
Guerrero was received from San Bernardino County on June 13, 2024. He was sentenced to six years. It was unclear what crime or crimes he committed.
At least two other inmates have been killed at the prison in recent years. In February 2024, 53-year-old Guy Perez was attacked and fatally stabbed by two other inmates. Last August, 43-year-old Jerry Elliott was allegedly killed by another inmate inside a cell the two men shared.
Staff writer Alex Riggins contributed to this report.