Convicted San Gabriel child molester killed in prison

1-9-2011 California:

ARCADIA - A registered sex offender convicted of assaulting a 5-year-old girl inside an Arcadia bookstore in 2008 and sent to prison in September was beaten to death in his cell, state corrections officials said Wednesday.

Jaime Elvis Elizondo, 35, of San Gabriel was killed Dec. 20. His High Desert State Prison cellmate, Steven Cisneros, 36, is the prime suspect, said Lt. Charlie Hahn, prison spokesman.

The Lassen County Sheriff-Coroner's Office said Elizondo died of blunt force trauma.

Elizondo was convicted in September of exposing himself to the young victim inside a Borders bookstore at the Westfield Shopping Mall in Arcadia in 2008. The assault was captured on the store's video system.

A witness confronted Elizondo and later found his photo on a Web site listing registered sex offenders and gave police the information.

The Megan's Law website lists Elizondo as having a conviction for lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14, but it does not list the date of that conviction.

At the time of Elizondo's arrest, Arcadia police praised the witness not only for confronting Elizondo and interfering with his abuse, but also for following up and reporting the crime to police.

Elizondo was sent to High Desert State Prison to begin serving a 30-year-to-life term for lewd acts on a child under 14 following his conviction in the Arcadia case.

Cisneros, 36, arrived at the prison in November to serve a 56-years-to-life sentence for murder, officials said.

The 5-foot, 4-inch, 200-pound killer was convicted in February 2010 of first-degree murder in the stabbing of his roommate, Lawrence Kaiser, 44, at a sober-living facility in Santa Barbara.

After Elizondo's beating death, Cisneros was placed in segregation while the homicide is investigated, Hahn said.

Both Elizondo and Cisneros arrived at the 4,600-inmate facility in Susanville on the same day - Nov. 30, prison officials said.

At his request, Elizondo was being housed the prison's "sensitive needs yard," a special ward for inmates "with victimization concerns, who feel their safety could be put in jeopardy" if mixed in with the general inmate population, Hahn said.

Cisneros also was being housed in the sensitive needs yard, Hahn said. ..Source.. by Hector Gonzalez, Staff Writer

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Sex offender killed in state prison

1-5-2011 California:

ARCADIA - A serial child molester convicted of assaulting a 5-year-old girl inside an Arcadia bookstore in 2008 and sent to prison in September for 30 years was beaten to death by his cellmate, prison officials said Wednesday.

Jaime Elizondo, 30, of San Gabriel was killed by cellmate Steven Cisneros, said Lt. Charlie Hahn, spokesman for the High Desert State Prison. Elizondo was convicted of exposing himself to the victim inside a Borders bookstore at an Arcadia mall in 2008. The assault was captured on the store's video system.

A witness confronted Elizondo and later found his photo on a Web site listing registered sex offenders and gave police the information. Here's our original post on the story with a photo of the molestation. ..Source.. by Frank Girardot