Violent IE Inmate Deaths Spark 'Modified Programming' At CA Prisons

CALIFORNIA — "Modified programming" announced over the weekend in several California state prisons was triggered by violence that left two inmates from the Inland Empire dead.

The March 8 modified programming was "in response to a surge in violence against staff and incarcerated persons," according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The recent deadly mayhem unfurled within a matter of minutes at two separate California state prisons, and it's unclear whether the brutality was related.

CDCR first reported a prison attack on 32-year-old inmate Jake T. Kennedy. According to the agency, Kennedy was found inside his cell at California State Prison, Sacramento, during a 6:13 a.m. March 7 security check.

He was suffering from "multiple stab wounds," CDCR reported.

Despite life-saving measures, Kennedy was pronounced dead less than an hour later at the prison's triage and treatment area.

Kennedy's cellmate, 30-year-old Tyler L. Yates, is suspected in the fatal stabbing.

"One improvised weapon was recovered at the scene," according to CDCR.

A possible motive for the killing was not announced, but Yates had murdered an inmate before. Moreover, he and Kennedy are suspected in a Feb. 23 slaying that took place last month.

Inmate Jonathan D. Rude, 39, was allegedly attacked by the duo in the Sacramento prison's main exercise yard.

"Two improvised weapons" were found at the scene, according to CDCR.

That investigation is continuing.

Yates was received from San Diego County on Oct. 9, 2017, to serve eight years for first-degree burglary and assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury as a second striker.

While in prison, he committed more violence. On Feb. 2, 2024, Yates was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder as a second striker. A 2022 CDCR news release states Yates and another prisoner attacked a fellow inmate at the Sacramento prison, leading to the inmate's death.

It's unclear why Yates was housed with a cellmate, given his history of extreme prison violence. He remains in restricted housing pending an investigation into the recent alleged attack. The Sacramento County Coroner will determine Kennedy’s official cause of death.

Kennedy was most recently received from San Bernardino County after his Feb. 6, 2020, sentencing on a conviction of carrying a concealed dirk or dagger as a second striker. He was ordered to serve six years in state prison.

While incarcerated, Kennedy was sentenced on Jan. 9, 2023, to another four years for assault by a prisoner.

Minutes after Kennedy's death in Sacramento, another inmate from the Inland Empire was fatally attacked at a California state prison.

At 7:20 a.m. that same day, inmate Terrance B. Shaw, 42, allegedly attacked fellow prisoner Joshua L. Peppers, 39, at California State Prison, Los Angeles County.

Following the violence on a prison patio, efforts by officials to save Peppers' life were unsuccessful.

According to CDCR officials, an improvised weapon was found at the scene of the attack.

Shaw was placed in restricted housing pending an investigation, and the Los Angeles County Coroner will determine Peppers' official cause of death.

A possible motive for the killing was not announced.

Peppers was most recently received from San Bernardino County on Sep. 26, 2017, to serve nine years for second-degree robbery as a second striker with an enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury. On July 24, 2019, he was sentenced to an additional six years and four months for second-degree robbery as a second striker with enhancements for the use of a firearm and inflicting great bodily injury.

Shaw was most recently returned from parole with a new sentence from Monterey County on Nov. 17, 2023, to serve 14 years, four months for assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury as a second striker, conspiracy to commit crime as a second striker, battery with serious injury as a second striker, and possession/manufacture of a deadly weapon by a prisoner as a second striker, an in-prison offense.

No other prison deaths or attacks were publicly announced immediately prior to the March 8 "modified programming" that was in effect at Calipatria State Prison, Centinela State Prison, California Correctional Institution, High Desert State Prison, Kern Valley State Prison, California State Prison-Los Angeles County, Mule Creek State Prison, Pelican Bay State Prison, California State Prison-Sacramento, Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and Salinas Valley State Prison.

Modified programming is different from a prison lockdown. According to CDCR, the programming controls inmates' movements in housing areas with the highest security levels. How long the modified programming was expected to be in place is unclear.