Crime & Safety
Inmate Killed In Altercation At Cois Byrd Detention Center In Murrieta
Erik Martinez, in custody on murder charges, is believed to have killed another inmate during a fight at the Murrieta detention center.
MURRIETA, CA — An inmate at the Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta died in an apparent altercation with another inmate, sheriff's officials said Friday.
Deputies responded to an unresponsive inmate at around 4:20 p.m. Thursday, according to Sgt. Richard Carroll from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
Carroll said deputies and jail medical staff initiated medical aid, but despite live-saving measures, paramedics pronounced Ulyses Munoz Ayala, 39, dead. Details on the nature of his death were not immediately released.
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According to court records, Ayala was scheduled to be sentenced in two separate assault cases next Friday.
Investigators with the Corrections Intelligence Bureau and Central Homicide Unit determined the inmate died in an altercation with another inmate, believed to be Erik Martinez, 30, sheriff's officials said.
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Martinez is jailed without bail. He has been in custody on suspicion of murder since Aug. 13, 2021.
Martinez is accused of an Aug. 11, 2021, carjacking and killing in Jurupa Valley.
