SOLEDAD, Calif. – California prison authorities say two inmates were found dead in unrelated events at Salinas Valley State Prison.
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said 22-year-old Cedric Saunders was found dead in his cell Saturday and that his death is being investigated as a homicide. It gave no other details.
It says Saunders transferred to the facility in Soledad from Riverside County in July 2013 to serve a five-year sentence for second-degree robbery with a street gang enhancement.
The department says that minutes later a 61-year-old inmate was found dead in his cell. He was the cell's only occupant. A cause of death was not released.
His name is being withheld until his family can be notified.
Officials didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.
The state prison in Monterey County holds about 3,500 minimum and maximum custody male inmates.
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