On November 26, 2024, at about 1813 hours, At High Desert State Prison, officers observed Inmate Person Zachary Barron attacking Inmate Juan Linares. Barron used an improvised weapon, to stab Linares multiple times. Officers responded and quelled the attack.
Linares was immediately transported to the institution’s Correctional Treatment Center (CTC) for advanced medical care. However, his condition worsened, requiring life-saving measures, including CPR and wound care, by Correctional Officers and medical staff. Despite their efforts, Linares was pronounced deceased at 7:09 p.m. by a physician at an outside hospital.
Linares, 44, was received by CDCR from Alameda County on Oct. 20, 2009, to serve 36 years to life for second-degree murder.
Barron, 32, was received by CDCR from San Bernardino County on Dec. 5, 2019, to serve 14 years to life for first-degree murder. He has been placed in restricted housing while the incident is under investigation.
The HDSP Investigative Services Unit and the Lassen County District Attorney’s Office are conducting investigations into this incident. The Office of the Inspector General has been notified, and the Lassen County Coroner will determine Linares’s official cause of death.
