Mexican mafia member on death row murdered by fellow inmates

A California death row inmate was killed by fellow inmates on Thursday, the state’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

Alberto Martinez, 46, was punched and beaten with “inmate weapons” during the attack carried out by Tyler A. Lua, Jorge D. Negrete-Larios and Luis J. Beltran, officials said in a press release.

Staff “quickly stopped the incident” with pepper spray and a baton and performed “life-saving measures” on Martinez, who was pronounced dead about an hour later.

“Two inmate-made weapons were found at the scene,” corrections authorities stated. “No staff or additional detainees were injured.”

All three accused perpetrators have since been placed in restricted housing pending investigation, and the Imperial County Coroner will determine Martinez’s official cause of death.

Martinez was a member of a Mexican mafia who was so powerful that he allegedly orchestrated murders from prison while using a smuggled cell phone Los Angeles Times reported.

Although California has not carried out an execution since 2006, he was given “convict status” for first-degree murder and also received a life sentence for attempted first-degree murder, with an enhancement for street gang activity and two years for street gang activity. , the press release said.

The three inmates suspected of killing Martinez are also hardened criminals, corrections officials said:

Lua, 25, was received from San Bernardino County on January 31, 2019, sentenced to 19 years for attempted manslaughter with an enhancement for use of a firearm. While in jail, he was sentenced by Imperial County to two years for having a controlled substance in the jail.

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

Beltran, 31, was received out of Los Angeles County on April 6, 2023, sentenced to life without parole for first-degree murder, with enhancements for intentional discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury/death, and possession/possession of a firearm as a criminal.

Shortly after his inauguration in 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed an executive order establishing a moratorium on the death penalty and ordered the dismantling of the state execution chambers at San Quentin State Prison.

A total of 623 prisoners remain there convicted penalties in the state, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.