Homicide investigation underway after inmate is found dead in California prison, CDCR says

A man convicted of burglary in Sacramento County was declared dead Wednesday in his prison cell he shared with another inmate, prompting a homicide investigation, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Prison guards at North Kern State Prison in Delano, Kern County, surveilled the grounds when they spotted an unresponsive man in his cell, according to a Thursday news release. The peace officers began to render medical aid to Enrique Gomeztangle and called for additional emergency medical personnel.

Gomeztangle, 31, was pronounced dead at 5:34 p.m., the release said.

He shared his prison cell with inmate Kevin Langston, who was convicted of burglary in Los Angeles. Langston was placed on restrictive housing as the prison’s investigative services unit and the Kern County District Attorney’s Office investigate the homicide, the release said.

The Kern County Coroner’s Office will identify Gomeztangle’s cause of death.

Gomeztangle was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for second-degree burglary, CDCR officials said. Langston, 34, was sentenced to four years in prison, the CDCR said. The prison received Gomeztangle on Dec. 12 and Langston on Dec. 18.