The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is investigating the death of an inmate at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego as a homicide.
Jerry Elliott, 43, died Thursday, five days after prison staff found him unresponsive following a cell fight with another inmate.
Prison staff responded to the incident around 6:15 a.m. on Aug. 16, discovered Elliott unconscious, and restrained the other inmate, Aikane Matias. Staff began life-saving measures and summoned emergency medical services. Elliott was transported to an outside hospital, where he died at about 4:25 a.m. on Thursday.
No staff or other inmates were injured in the incident, and no weapon was used, CDCR said.
Matias, 32, has been moved to restricted housing during the investigation.
Elliott was serving a 34-year sentence for multiple Riverside County felony convictions, including evading a peace officer causing death and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. He had been incarcerated at RJD since July 25, 2024.
Matias arrived from Fresno County on Nov. 26, 2024, serving an eight-year sentence for first-degree burglary with a prior strike.
The facility’s Investigative Services Unit is working with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, and the Office of the Inspector General has been notified. The San Diego County Coroner’s Office will determine the official cause of death.
Officials said movement inside the prison has been temporarily limited to support the ongoing investigation.
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