A condemned inmate at a Southern California prison was beaten to death by three other inmates this week, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.
According to a CDCR media release, prison staff at Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County observed one inmate, 25-year-old Tyler A. Lua, strike another inmate at 1:23 p.m. Thursday.
The inmate who was attacked, Alberto Martinez, fell to the ground where Lua continued to hit him; Lua eventually stepped away from the victim, and two other inmates – Jorge D. Negrete-Larios and Luis J. Beltran – began beating Martinez as he lay motionless on the ground.
Staff were able to stop the attack using pepper spray and “one baton strike,” CDCR said.
“[Martinez] was transported to the prison’s triage and treatment area for a higher level of care…at 2:20 p.m., he was pronounced deceased,” authorities stated. “He had injuries consistent with an incarcerated-manufactured weapon.”
Two inmate-made weapons were found at the scene, CDCR added. No staff or other inmates were hurt in the incident.
Movement throughout the yard where the attack occurred was limited, and the three suspects were all moved into restricted housing pending an investigation.
Martinez, 46, was most recently received from Orange County on Aug. 17, 2010, and placed on condemned status for first-degree murder. He was also sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for attempted first-degree murder with enhancement for street gang activity and an additional two years for street gang activity; that sentence was to be served concurrently with his condemned sentence.
According to the Orange County Register, Martinez “acted as the getaway driver in a botched plot to kidnap and murder a Buena Park businessman” that was orchestrated by the businessman’s sister. A Los Angeles Times article indicates he was a powerful member of the Mexican mafia who orchestrated murders while on death row and communicated — and fell in love with — a woman from Mexico through the use of an illegal cell phone.
Lua was received from San Bernardino County on Jan. 31, 2019, after being sentenced to 19 years in prison for attempted second-degree murder with an enhancement for use of a firearm; while incarcerated, he was sentenced to two additional years for possessing a controlled substance in prison.
Negrete-Larios, 33, was sentenced to 32 years and four months in prison for attempted second-degree murder with enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury, discharge of a firearm and street gang activity in commission of a violent felony. He was received from Riverside County on July 5, 2016.
Beltran was received on April 6, 2023, from L.A. County; the 31-year-old was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder with enhancements for intentional discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death and possession of a firearm as a felon.
CDCR records indicate there are 623 total individuals with condemned sentences throughout California prisons.
In March 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order instituting a moratorium on the death penalty in California. The bill also called for the repealing of the state’s lethal injection protocol and the immediate closing of the state’s execution chamber at San Quentin State Prison.
The last person to be executed in California was Clarence Ray Allen in 2006.