FOLSOM — Officials at California State Prison, Sacramento are investigating the Feb. 23 death of an incarcerated person as a homicide, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Prison staff reported that at approximately 9:15 p.m. on Feb. 23, officers observed incarcerated person John Cisneros unresponsive inside his cell. Staff immediately initiated life-saving measures and activated emergency medical services. Cisneros was pronounced deceased at 9:59 p.m. by responding ambulance personnel.
Cisneros’ cellmate, Irvin Sanchez, was detained and removed from the cell. He has been placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the prison’s Investigative Services Unit and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. The Office of the Inspector General has also been notified.
Cisneros, 49, was most recently received from Los Angeles County on July 6, 2015, after being sentenced to five years for second-degree robbery. While incarcerated, he was sentenced by Los Angeles County on Oct. 16, 2017, to 28 years for penetration, oral copulation and attempted rape with force or violence and fear of immediate bodily injury.
Sanchez, 34, was received from Los Angeles County on Feb. 27, 2013. He was serving an 18-year sentence for attempted second-degree murder with enhancements for a street gang act and use of a firearm, along with one year and four months for concealing a firearm in a vehicle, to be served concurrently.
California State Prison, Sacramento opened in 1986 and houses more than 2,200 medium-, maximum- and high-security incarcerated persons. The institution offers academic classes and vocational programs and employs approximately 1,500 people.
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