South Bay Prisoner Suspected Of Killing Fellow Inmate: CDCR

DEL NORTE COUNTY, CA — A man convicted of attempted murder in a South Bay case has been accused of killing a fellow state prison inmate, authorities said.

Fernando TorresLopez, 23, is accused of fatally assaulting 22-year-old Uriel Otero at Pelican Bay State Prison on Friday, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.

Officers and medical staff at around 5:30 p.m. responded to a report of an attack at a housing unit dayroom, the CDCR said.

Otero was taken to the prison’s triage and treatment area for treatment, the CDCR said.
He was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m.

TorresLopez last year was sentenced 19-years and eight months for attempted second-degree murder, carrying a firearm in public with a prior felony conviction, and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon in the commission of a street gang act, the CDCR said.

Otero was serving a 25-year sentence for attempted second-degree murder with use of a firearm and inflicting great bodily injury in the commission of a street gang act, the CDCR said.

Officials have limited population movement on the yard to facilitate the investigation being conducted by PBSP’s Investigative Services Unit, the Del Norte County District Attorney’s Office and the Del Norte County Coroner, the CDCR said.

TorresLopez was placed in segregated housing pending the investigation.

The Office of the Inspector General was notified and the Del Norte County Coroner will determine Otero’s official cause of death.

No CDCC staff members or additional incarcerated people were injured as a result of this incident.