Yolo County inmate dies at California prison. Officials say 2 other prisoners joined in attack

Authorities said they are investigating the Friday morning death of an inmate at High Desert State Prison as a homicide.

Fellow inmates Williams Lutts, 39, and Timothy Smith, 40, were seen by prison staff attacking Terence Coleman, 51, about 10:15 a.m.. The incident was contained in minutes but Coleman was pronounced dead at 10:38 a.m. by medical staff, according to a news release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The corrections department said Lutts suffered serious injuries and was taken to an outside hospital. When he returns, the department stated, he’ll be placed in the Administrative Segregation Unit.

Smith already has been moved to the unit pending investigation of this case.

Coleman was committed to High Desert from Yolo County in January 1997 to serve life with the possibility of parole for assault with a deadly weapon and second-degree robbery, according to corrections officials. While in prison, Coleman was sentenced to an additional 12 years for voluntary manslaughter.

Lutts was committed to High Desert from Tuolumne County in May 2004 on an 18-year sentence for assault with a firearm on a peace officer or firefighter. He was sentenced to nine more years in 2013 for assault with a deadly weapon, according to the news release.

Smith was admitted to the prison system from San Joaquin County in August 2016 to serve life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.

The Lassen County Coroner will determine Coleman’s official cause of death.