Death Of Southern California Inmate Investigated As Homicide
CHINO, Calif. (AP) -- Officials are investigating the beating death of a Southern California state prison inmate as a homicide.
Correctional Lt. Daniel Tristan said Friday that 51-year-old Tony Alston was beaten by another inmate at the California Institution for Men on Feb. 15.
He was taken to an outside hospital, but died Wednesday.
Alston was serving a six-year sentence from Yolo County for vehicle theft with prior related theft convictions.
Tristan says the beating took place in a dormitory that houses a maximum 140 inmates. No weapons were involved and he says the cause remains under investigation.
No charges have been filed, but prison officials are holding a suspect in segregation while the investigation continues.
The prison holds about 3,400 minimum- and medium-security inmates in Chino, about 35 miles east of Los Angeles.
