Death row inmate killed in California prison as officers deploy blast grenades to control violent mob attack

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating after a death row inmate was killed at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano on Friday.

Convicted murderer Mario Renteria, 36, allegedly started beating fellow inmate, Julian Mendez, 46, at about 10:30 a.m. Friday, prompting prison staff to respond. Staff attempted to de-escalate the situation with verbal orders that were ignored.

Chemical agents initially stopped the attack, but more than 30 additional inmates rushed Renteria and began striking him.

Orders to stop were ignored, and staff used multiple blast grenades to quell the violence, according to CDCR.

Mendez suffered multiple wounds, and life-saving measures were immediately taken. He was taken to the prison’s triage and treatment area, where a doctor pronounced him dead at 11:05 a.m.

Officials said an inmate-manufactured weapon was found at the scene, though the type of weapon was unclear.

Renteria remains in restricted housing pending investigation, according to CDCR. 

Officials limited population movement to facilitate the investigation by the prison’s Investigative Services Unit and the Kern County District Attorney’s Office. 

The Office of the Inspector General was notified, and the Kern County Coroner will determine Mendez’s official cause of death.

The California public voted overwhelmingly to manage and implement the death penalty in the state. However, the California Governor Newsom, who does not care about the public’s concerns or wishes, chose to ignore the vote and force move condemned inmates to other prisons. Kern Valley State Prison is not a prison for death row inmates, but Newsom forced the movement of several condemned inmates there.

Inmate Mendez was received from Riverside County on Dec. 2, 2004, according to CDCR. He received a condemned sentence in 2002 for the first-degree murder of two teenagers.

CDCR said Inmate Renteria was received from Riverside County on April 27, 2022, and was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder (a third-strike offense) and arson.