Death row mobster fatally beaten in Southern California prison

A convicted inmate at a Southern California prison was beaten to death by three other inmates this week, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

According to a CDCR news release, jail staff at Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County saw an inmate, 25-year-old Tyler A. Lua, punch another inmate at 1:23 p.m. Thursday.

The inmate who was attacked, Alberto Martinez, fell to the ground where Lua continued to hit him; Lua eventually stepped away from the victim and two other inmates – Jorge D. Negrete-Larios and Luis J. Beltran – began beating Martinez as he lay motionless on the ground.

Staff were able to stop the attack using pepper spray and “one baton attack,” CDCR said.

“(Martinez) was transported to the jail triage and treatment area for a higher level of care… at 2:20 p.m., he was pronounced deceased,” authorities stated. “He had injuries consistent with a prison-made weapon.”

Two inmate-made weapons were found at the scene, CDCR added. No staff or other inmates were injured in the incident.

Movement in the courtyard where the attack took place was restricted and the three suspects were all moved to restricted accommodation pending an investigation.

Martinez, 46, was last received out of Orange County on August 17, 2010, and was given a conviction status for first-degree murder. He was also sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for attempted first-degree murder, with enhancement for street gang activity and an additional two years for street gang activity; that sentence would be served concurrently with his convicted sentence.

According to the Orange County Register, Martinez “acted as a getaway driver in a failed plot to kidnap and murder a Buena Park businessman” that was orchestrated by the businessman’s sister. An article in the Los Angeles Times reveals that he was a powerful member of the Mexican Mafia, who orchestrated murders while on death row and communicated with – and fell in love with – a woman from Mexico through the use of an illegal cell phone.

Tyler A. Lua, Jorge D. Negrete-Larios and Luis J. Beltran as seen in photos released by CDCR.

Lua was received from San Bernardino County on January 31, 2019, after being sentenced to 19 years in prison for attempted manslaughter with an enhancement for use of a firearm; While in prison, he was sentenced to two additional years for possession of a controlled substance in prison.

Negrete-Larios, 33, was sentenced to 32 years and four months in prison for attempted second-degree murder, with enhancements for inflicting great bodily harm, discharging a firearm and street gang activity for a violent felony. He was received from Riverside County on July 5, 2016.

Beltran was received from LA County on April 6, 2023; the 31-year-old was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, with enhancements for intentional discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury or death, and possession of a firearm as criminal.

CDCR data indicates that a total of 623 individuals have been convicted in California prisons.

In March 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order establishing a moratorium on the death penalty in California. The bill also called for the repeal of the state’s lethal injection protocol and the immediate closure of the state’s execution chamber at San Quentin State Prison.

The last person executed in California was Clarence Ray Allen in 2006.