An elderly pedophile was found dead in his cell inside a California prison and his cellmate is now under investigation for his murder.
Mark Squires, 70, was found unconscious around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday by San Quentin prison staff after an alarm sounded, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) said in a statement. statement.
Emergency services were immediately called and “life-saving measures” were taken on the prisoner, who was jailed for lewd acts against a girl under the age of 14.
Squires was transported to the prison triage area, where medical staff, who were not associated with the prison, pronounced him dead at 4:04 p.m.
His cellmate, Gustavo Lopez, 36, was taken and placed in a restraining cell, where he will remain while the prison conducts an investigation into the mysterious death.
San Quentin prison staff found Mark Squires, 70, unconscious around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday after an alarm sounded. Emergency services were immediately called and “life-saving measures” were taken on the prisoner, who was jailed for lewd acts against a minor.
His cellmate, Gustavo Lopez, 36, was taken and placed in restrictive housing, where he will remain while the prison conducts an investigation into the mysterious death.
Prison staff did not disclose how Squires’ body was found or what injuries he suffered that led to his death in the suspected homicide.
According to CDCR, no other inmates or officers were injured.
Seventeen inmate deaths have been ruled homicides in state prisons this year from January through August, according to CDCR data.
In August alone, 25 inmates died in custody from various causes, and since January the total has risen to almost 250.
The elderly criminal had been incarcerated in San Quentin since January 2000 and was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
Lopez had been at the facility since January 2020 and is serving a 13-year sentence for kidnapping, corporal injury to specified persons resulting in a traumatic condition, and false imprisonment with violence.
On all three counts, he was considered a “second offender,” meaning he had to go to prison after his conviction due to state law.
Prison staff did not disclose how Squires’ body was found or what injuries he sustained that led to his death in the suspected homicide.
San Quentin (pictured) is the oldest prison, having opened in 1852 and has housed people including Charles Manson.
A “second striker” is someone who has been convicted of a felony before and is not allowed to be sent to a halfway house or released on parole, according to San Diego County.
These prisoners must also serve at least 80 percent of their sentence.
Those who commit a third offense face a minimum of 25 years or life in prison and cannot receive time off for good behavior or work.
California’s Three Strikes Law aims to “drastically increase the punishment for persons convicted of a felony who have previously been convicted of one or more ‘serious’ or ‘violent’ felonies,” the county said.
The law has been in force since March 1994.
San Quentin is the oldest prison, having opened in 1852 and has housed people such as Charles Manson.
The prison houses more than 3,000 inmates from minimum to maximum facilities.
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