For the third time this month, a sex offender is apparently murdered in prison

Other deaths in article posted separately

5-29-2012 California:

An inmate was found dead in his cell Tuesday at California State Prison-Los Angeles County. The death is being treated as a homicide and the inmate's cellmate, Aaron Alvarez, 42, is a suspect. Alvarez, serving a life sentence for first degree murder, was placed in administrative segregation while the case is investigated by prison officials and the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department.

The victim's name has not been released, as his family has not yet been notified of his death. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the deceased inmate had been in prison since November 30, 1999 for aggravated sexual assault of a child in San Diego County.

Sex offenders are known targets of other inmates in prison. And this death is at least the third such apparent homicide of a sex offender in a California prison this month and at least the sixth this year. ..Source.. by CDCR Today

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Suspected Inmate Homicide at California State Prison-Los Angeles County

5-29-2012:

LANCASTER-- Officials at California State Prison- Los Angeles County are investigating the death of an inmate as a homicide after he was found unresponsive in his cell Tuesday morning.

The inmate, whose name is being withheld pending notification of his next of kin, was pronounced dead at the institution at 1:18 a.m.

Prison officials have named his cellmate Aaron Alvarez, 42, as the suspect in the case. Alvarez has been placed in the administrative segregation unit pending the investigation.

The victim was received by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on November 30, 1999 from San Diego County. He was serving a life sentence for aggravated sexual assault of a child.

Inmate Alvarez was received by CDCR on July 11, 2008 from Kern County. He was serving a life sentence for first-degree murder.

The case is under investigation by the institution’s Investigative Services Unit and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Additionally, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has been notified.

LAC provides educational, vocational, re-entry and self-help programs that provide inmates life skills and work skills that can be used in support of their efforts at reintegration into society. The facility has a unique Progressive Programming Facility developed specifically to provide a program, free from disruptive behavior, in which personal and CDCR goals can be more readily achieved.

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North County child molester killed in prison cell, authorities say

6-1-2012:

An Oceanside man was found dead earlier this week in his cell at a state prison facility in Lancaster, where he was serving a life sentence for aggravated sexual assault of his 1-year-old stepdaughter, according to authorities and news reports.

The man, who was identified Thursday as Francisco Javier Aguilar, 36, was found dead at about 1 a.m. Tuesday, according to a media advisory released later Tuesday by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Authorities named Aguilar's cellmate, Aaron Alvarez, 42, as the suspect in Aguilar's death, according to the advisory. Alvarez is serving a life sentence for murder.

The Los Angeles County coroner's office had not released the cause and manner of Aguilar's death Thursday evening.

Aguilar was arrested July 1, 1998, after he called 911 to report that his 1-year-old stepdaughter was "wigging out," according to a July 3, 1998, article in the North County Times. Authorities found the girl bruised and injured in a way that suggested sexual trauma.

Authorities said Aguilar, then 22 and living in Oceanside, had been baby-sitting the girl while her mother was at work, according to the article.

The county of San Diego turned Aguilar over to the prison system on Nov. 30, 1999, according to prison officials. ..Source..

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Dead Lancaster inmate had cable around neck; cellmate is a suspect

6-14-2012:

A man serving a life sentence for murder is suspected of killing his cellmate, who was found dead with a cable wrapped around his neck early Tuesday at a state prison in Lancaster, officials said.

The victim, a 36-year-old man whose name has not been released yet, was pronounced dead about 1:18 a.m. after being found unresponsive in his bunk, according to a news release from California State Prison, Los Angeles County.

His cellmate, Aaron Alvarez, 42, is suspected in the killing and was placed in isolation in the prison’s administrative segregation unit, officials said.

Alvarez is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder on a Kern County conviction.

The slain inmate had been in prison since 1999 and was serving a life sentence for sexual assault of a child in San Diego County, prison officials said.

The death is being investigated by prison staff and detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

It marks the second time in the last six months that an inmate at the Antelope Valley prison has been accused of killing a cellmate.

In December, guards found an inmate dead in his bunk after his cellmate passed them a note at breakfast alerting them to the body.

After investigators saw "something suspicious" on the body, the cellmate became the chief suspect.

Officials said Tuesday the December homicide is still under investigation. ..Source.. by Kim Christensen