Inmate accused in third homicide at California prison where riot broke out this week
An inmate — implicated in the killings of two people at the same Sacramento County prison — is now accused of a third homicide at the facility as it grapples with repeated safety concerns following a riot this week which left multiple people hospitalized.
A Sacramento County jury convicted Tyler Yates of murder after Nathan Marcus, 33, was stabbed to death in 2022 at California State Prison, Sacramento. He is also accused of killing Jonathan Rude, 39, last month during an attack on the exercise yard. That case is still pending.
Prison guards conducted a security check Friday when they found Yates’ cell mate stabbed to death. Officers rendered medical aid to the victim, Jake Kennedy, and called 911, according to a news release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Kennedy was taken to the prison’s triage and treatment area where a paramedic pronounced him dead at 7:04 a.m., the news release said.
Investigators found one improvised weapon at the prison, often called New Folsom. This is the second homicide the prison has reported this year, which includes the attack on Rude.
Kennedy was accused of conspiring with Yates to kill Rude last month, CDCR said.
Kennedy, 32, came to New Folsom from San Bernardino County on Feb. 6, 2020. He was sentenced to six years in prison for carrying a concealed dirk or dagger. He was sentenced to an additional four years in prison on Jan. 9, 2023, after he assaulted a prisoner who suffered great bodily injuries, according to the CDCR.
A prison riot involving 40 inmates broke out Wednesday, called a mass casualty incident by authorities. Six people suffered wounds, and five prisoners were taken to UC Davis Medical Center or Mercy San Juan Medical Center.
No staff members were injured in the riot or in Friday’s homicide, according to the CDCR.
Yates first came to New Folsom from San Diego County in 2017. He was sentenced to serve eight years in prison for first-degree burglary and assault likely to cause great bodily injury.
The investigation into Friday’s homicide is ongoing.