TEHACHAPI, CA – An inmate at a high-security prison in California met a violent end on Wednesday when he was fatally stabbed by two fellow prisoners, according to law enforcement officials.
The victim, identified as David Moreno, 38, was assaulted just before 9 a.m. at the California Correctional Institution located in Tehachapi, as per the information released by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Prison guards swiftly intervened, deploying chemical agents to disperse the attackers. Despite their efforts, Moreno succumbed to his injuries while being transported to a nearby hospital, less than an hour after the attack.
Three makeshift weapons were confiscated in the aftermath of the incident. Two inmates, Carlos Cervantes and Armando Taylor, were subsequently placed in restrictive housing pending an investigation into Moreno’s death.
Moreno had been a resident of the maximum-security prison since 2004, serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole for two counts of attempted murder involving a firearm. His sentence was extended by three years in 2015 for assaulting a non-inmate while incarcerated.
Cervantes, 39, was transferred to the prison from Kern County in 2018. He was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for two counts of first-degree murder, also involving a firearm. In 2020, he was handed additional time for crafting a lethal weapon and assaulting a fellow inmate.
Taylor, 41, was convicted of murder and arrived at the prison from Imperial County in 2017. He was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole. Taylor had his prison term extended in 2020 and 2022 for in-prison assaults.