May 29, 2012 — Officials from High Desert State Prison (HDSP) in Susanville are investigating the death of an inmate as a homicide.

The inmate was found unresponsive in his cell approximately 5 a.m. Saturday, May 26.  He was pronounced dead at 5:57 a.m.

The unidentified deceased inmate, 53, was serving his third term and was committed from Los Angeles County July 17, 1987.

He was received at HDSP April 15, 2010 and was serving a 137-year, plus two life terms, sentences for numerous counts of sexual battery, kidnapping, rape, oral copulation with force and violence resulting in great bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon.

His name is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin.

The deceased inmate’s cellmate has been identified as the primary suspect in the death and has been placed in the Administrative Segregation Unit pending investigation into the incident.

The suspect, 38, is a first-term inmate received from Sacramento County Feb. 2, 2011.

He was received at HDSP May 2, 2012 and is serving a life without parole sentence for first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon.

The inmate’s name is being withheld at this time pending investigation.

The case is under investigation by the HDSP Investigative Services Unit.

The Office of the Inspector General’s Bureau of Independent Review was notified.