Oakland Man Charged With Killing Santa Rita Cellmate: Reports

DUBLIN, CA — An Oakland man held for murder at Santa Rita Jail is being charged with killing his cellmate, 37-year-old Elias Angel Rivera, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office announced Friday.

On March 17, 2025, deputies responded to Rivera's cell after his cellmate activated the emergency call button, the sheriff's office said in a news release. Deputies found Rivera unresponsive with visible injuries. They arranged to have Rivera transported to a local hospital for treatment. A hospital physician pronounced him dead at 1:11 a.m. the following day.

No suspects were initially named, but on Friday, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office named Paula Faaui, 22, of Oakland.

Faaui was arrested in connection with the Aug. 20, 2023 death of Julian Carillo-Garcia, 31, in Oakland, according to reports. Faaui was charged with shooting and killing him after a robbery gone wrong, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

Rivera was arrested by the California Highway Patrol on May 21, 2022, according to reports.

At the time, he was on probation and driving with a suspended license after a prior DUI conviction, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Bay Area News Group. While driving his car the wrong way on Highway 27, he allegedly killed 30-year-old Heidi Gerrish and injured her partner, brother, and sister-in-law, according to the report.

Rivera is the first person to die at Santa Rita Jail in 2025, and the 72nd person to die at Santa Rita Jail since 2014, according to records reviewed by KTVU.

Patch reached out to the Alameda County Sheriff's Office for more information.