LOS ANGELES, CA – California prison officials are investigating the death of a 32-year-old incarcerated man at California State Prison, Los Angeles County as a homicide after he was found unresponsive inside the cell he shared with another prisoner.
Francisco A. Perez was discovered during an early-morning security check on Aug. 22 at the state prison in Lancaster, according to an official California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announcement.
At approximately 1:45 a.m., prison staff saw Perez unresponsive inside his cell.
Staff immediately entered, began lifesaving measures and called 911, CDCR said.
Outside ambulance personnel responded to the institution, but Perez could not be revived.
He was pronounced dead at approximately 2:17 a.m., about 32 minutes after staff first discovered him.
His cellmate, Juan R. Saucedo, 45, was removed from the cell and placed in handcuffs.
Saucedo was subsequently transferred to restricted housing while investigators examine the circumstances surrounding Perez’s death.
CDCR has not publicly announced that Saucedo has been criminally charged with Perez’s death.
His placement in restricted housing while the case is investigated should therefore not be interpreted as a finding of guilt.
Death officially being investigated as homicide
CDCR has taken the more serious step of publicly classifying Perez’s death as a homicide investigation.
The case is being handled by the California State Prison, Los Angeles County Investigative Services Unit in conjunction with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, according to the department.
The California Office of the Inspector General has also been notified.
CDCR has not released additional information explaining what prison staff or investigators found inside the cell that led officials to treat the death as a homicide.
No weapon has been publicly identified.
Authorities also have not said whether Perez suffered visible injuries, whether there had been an earlier confrontation between the two men or how long he may have been unresponsive before the security check.
The official release does not identify a suspected cause of death.
Those unanswered questions will likely become central to the investigation as officials review the cell, medical findings, institutional records and any available surveillance or witness information.
Perez had been in state custody since 2016
Perez was 32 years old and had been in California state prison custody for more than a decade.
CDCR said he was most recently received from San Diego County on Feb. 4, 2016.
He was serving a 14-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon as a second striker, with sentencing enhancements for a previous serious felony conviction and for inflicting great bodily injury.
His record also included two additional prison sentences.
San Diego County sentenced Perez on Jan. 4, 2016, to another one year and four months for battery on emergency personnel as a second-strike offense.
While incarcerated, he received another sentence from Kern County on March 6, 2020.
That case resulted in one year and four months for resisting or deterring an officer through threat or violence, which CDCR identified as an in-prison offense.
The department did not say in its homicide announcement how much time Perez had remaining on his sentence or provide information about his eligibility for release.
Cellmate is serving life without parole for murder
Saucedo was serving a substantially different sentence.
CDCR said he was most recently received from Los Angeles County on Feb. 20, 2020 after being sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder.
His murder sentence included enhancements for intentionally discharging a firearm and causing great bodily injury or death.
While incarcerated, Saucedo was also convicted of another offense.
A San Luis Obispo County court sentenced him on Oct. 11, 2023, to four years for possession of a controlled substance, an offense committed while he was already in prison.
CDCR has not explained when Perez and Saucedo became cellmates, why they were assigned to the same cell or whether there had been any previous documented conflict between them.
The department also has not said whether either man had recently requested a housing change.
What restricted housing means
Following Perez’s death, Saucedo was placed in what CDCR calls restricted housing while the investigation proceeds.
The department describes a Restricted Housing Unit as temporary housing used when an incarcerated person cannot safely remain in a less restrictive environment because of a serious safety, security or misconduct concern.
Restricted housing may also be used for non-disciplinary reasons while officials investigate safety concerns.
That makes Saucedo’s transfer an administrative and security measure during the investigation rather than a criminal conviction related to Perez’s death.
CDCR updated its restricted-housing regulations in May 2026 but said the framework continues to require case-by-case housing decisions.
Investigation could lead to prosecution
The involvement of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office means prosecutors can review evidence developed inside the prison and determine whether criminal charges are warranted.
No such charges had been publicly announced in connection with Perez’s death.
If investigators eventually identify sufficient evidence that another incarcerated person caused his death, the case could be referred for prosecution as an in-prison homicide.
The exact charge would depend on the evidence, including how Perez died and what investigators determine occurred inside the cell.
At this stage, CDCR has disclosed only that the death is being investigated as a homicide and that Saucedo has been separated from the general prison population while the inquiry continues.
Lancaster prison houses about 3,000 people
California State Prison, Los Angeles County is located at 44750 60th Street West in Lancaster.
Despite its name, it is a state prison operated by CDCR rather than a Los Angeles County jail.
The facility opened in February 1993 and is the only California state prison located within Los Angeles County.
CDCR said the institution currently houses approximately 3,000 minimum- and maximum-custody incarcerated people and employs roughly 1,500 staff members.
A current CDCR facilities planning document lists the Lancaster prison as a 262-acre institution with a design capacity of 2,300 incarcerated people and housing classified at Levels I, III and IV.
The institution is considered a multi-mission prison.
Its official facility profile says it houses minimum- and maximum-security men and also functions as a medical hub for Enhanced Outpatient Program services.
The prison operates academic and vocational programs as well as Prison Industry Authority laundry and soap-manufacturing operations.
Other homicides have been investigated at the facility
Perez’s death is not the first homicide investigation at the Lancaster prison.
In February 2026, CDCR announced a separate investigation after incarcerated person Wilbert Lucero was found unresponsive during an evening security check.
Lucero’s cellmate and two additional incarcerated people were placed in restricted housing while that case was investigated.
Two separate inmate deaths at the facility were also investigated as homicides in early 2025.
In one February 2025 case, 41-year-old Joshua Kerr was found unresponsive in his cell with multiple wounds.
Less than two weeks later, authorities said another incarcerated man, Joshua L. Peppers, was fatally attacked on a prison patio. Investigators recovered an improvised weapon and placed another prisoner in restricted housing.
Those incidents are separate from Perez’s death, and there is no indication that they are connected.
They do, however, provide context for the investigative procedures now being used in the latest case.
In previous suspected prison homicides, CDCR has similarly isolated people under investigation, involved its Investigative Services Unit, notified the Inspector General and coordinated with county prosecutors.
Several major questions remain unanswered
Authorities have released a precise timeline for the discovery of Perez but few details about what happened before it.
Staff found him at approximately 1:45 a.m.
Outside medical personnel pronounced him dead at 2:17 a.m.
What occurred inside the cell before that security check has not been publicly established.
CDCR has not said:
- when Perez was last seen responsive;
- whether prison surveillance captured activity outside the cell;
- whether other incarcerated people reported hearing or seeing anything;
- whether a weapon was recovered;
- whether Perez had visible injuries;
- whether there had been a previous dispute between the cellmates;
- or what medical findings led officials to classify the case as a homicide.
The department has also not released information about any movement restrictions or modified programming imposed on the housing unit after Perez was discovered.
No criminal finding against Saucedo yet
Although Saucedo has been identified publicly as Perez’s cellmate and removed to restricted housing, CDCR’s announcement stops short of calling him the person responsible for the death.
That is a significant distinction.
The investigation must determine what happened inside the cell and whether available evidence establishes criminal responsibility.
Saucedo’s existing first-degree murder conviction and life-without-parole sentence are part of his incarceration history but do not establish his involvement in Perez’s death.
Any new criminal allegation would require a separate investigation and prosecutorial decision.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is participating in that process.
Security check now central to timeline
The fact that Perez was discovered during a security check provides investigators with an important reference point.
Prison security checks create institutional records that can help establish when staff moved through a housing area and when an incarcerated person was last observed.
Officials may compare those records with staff accounts, housing logs and other available evidence to narrow the period during which the fatal incident occurred.
CDCR has not released those records in Perez’s case.
It also has not disclosed whether the cell was sealed as a crime scene following his death, although preserving physical evidence would be a normal part of a suspected homicide investigation.
Perez’s death remains under active investigation
For now, state officials have publicly established only a limited set of facts.
Francisco A. Perez was found unresponsive inside his cell at California State Prison, Los Angeles County at about 1:45 a.m. Aug. 22.
Prison staff began lifesaving measures and activated 911.
He was pronounced dead by outside ambulance personnel at 2:17 a.m.
His cellmate, Juan R. Saucedo, was handcuffed, removed and placed in restricted housing.
The prison’s Investigative Services Unit and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the death as a homicide, while the Office of the Inspector General has been notified.
No new criminal charges have been announced.
No weapon, motive or specific cause of death has been publicly identified.
Until investigators release additional evidence, the circumstances of what happened inside the Lancaster prison cell remain unresolved.
