A 24-year-old man was convicted on Thursday, April 23 of stomping a fellow inmate to death in Orange County Jail.<\/p>\n
Irving Josue Morales, 24, was convicted of first-degree murder in the Feb. 5, 2025, attack that killed 38-year-old Juan Vasquez Pulido at the Intake Release Center at 550 N. Flower St. in Santa Ana.<\/p>\n
Morales is scheduled to be sentenced May 21.<\/p>\n
Pulido was in custody on drug-related charges when he was attacked in a cell with a handful of other inmates.<\/p>\n
Deputy Brendan Le of the Orange County Sheriff\u2019s Department testified that he went to have the newly booked inmates changed into jail garb when he came across the victim at about 7:40 p.m. One of the inmates said, \u201cman down,\u201d Le said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was breathing very heavy, lying face down, gasping\u201d in a pool of blood, Le testified.<\/p>\n
Le called for help and medical staff and other deputies responded. Nurse Raychana Sinclair testified that the victim had lacerations to his head.<\/p>\n
Sheriff\u2019s Sgt. Luke Sapolu testified that Pulido vomited while in custody hours before the attack. After relieving himself, Pulido went to lie down again on a bench and rest, Sapolu said.<\/p>\n
Morales is seen in surveillance video clutching at Pulido\u2019s sweater a couple of times with Pulido brushing his hand away before Morales returns and the beating and kicking commences.<\/p>\n
Sapolu, who watched hours of surveillance video of the two in the cell, said he counted Morales punching Pulido seven times in the head and twice slamming him on the bench. Morales appeared to pause for close to a minute and resume his attack in the video. In all, there were a total of 65 kicks to the victim\u2019s head, Sapolu testified.<\/p>\n
The two had no physical conflicts before the attack, Sapolu testified. And Pulido did nothing to defend himself, Sapolu said.<\/p>\n
Pulido was rushed to Orange County Global Medical Center where he was placed in a medically induced coma and died Feb. 20, sheriff\u2019s investigator Michael Swain testified.<\/p>\n
During the trial, Deputy District Attorney Sarah Rahman told jurors that she was \u201cconfident you will find this defendant committed willful, deliberate first-degree murder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morales\u2019 attorney, Tom Nocella of the Alternate Defender\u2019s Office, told jurors that they would have to decide between first- or second-degree murder or manslaughter. The \u201cintent to kill\u201d is what jurors will be asked to focus on, Nocella said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of this trial I will be asking you to find my client not guilty of first-degree murder,\u201d Nocella said.<\/p>\n
Orange County Assistant Sheriff Nate Wilson, who is in charge of the jails, said in December 2025 that in general, it\u2019s not feasible to monitor the thousands of cameras in the jail<\/a> at every moment.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d rather have my staff walking the floor,\u201d Wilson said, adding that video feeds are limited. \u201cYou can\u2019t hear what\u2019s going on, you can\u2019t smell. We don\u2019t want (staff) to rely on just watching a camera.\u201d<\/p>\n