SOLEDAD — California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating the Jan. 29 death of an inmate at Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) in Soledad as a homicide.
At about 6:15 a.m., staff observed inmate Karapet Demirdzhyan unresponsive in his cell during a security check in a housing unit.
“Staff immediately responded, initiating life-saving measures on Demirdzhyan and activating 911,” according to CDCR in a news release. “Outside medical ambulance staff pronounced Demirdzhyan deceased at 6:53 a.m.”
Demirdzhyan’s cellmate, Mario A. Martinez, has been placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the SVSP Investigative Services Unit and the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office. The Office of the Inspector General has been notified.
Demirdzhyan, 66, was received from Los Angeles County on April 16, 1996. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder with an enhancement for the use of a firearm. While incarcerated, he was also sentenced to four years by Riverside County on Sept. 25, 2008, for possession of a controlled substance in a jail or prison as a second striker, to be served concurrent to the first sentence.
Martinez, 35, was received from Los Angeles County on Dec. 22, 2015. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder with an enhancement for the personal use of a dangerous or deadly weapon. While incarcerated, he was also sentenced to 17 years by Kern County on Sept. 25, 2018, for assault by a prisoner with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily injury as a second striker with an enhancement for prior felony conviction of a serious offense, to be served concurrent to the first sentence.
This is the sixth homicide investigation at SVSP in the past year.
