Suspect identified in state prison beating death of Yolo inmate

Officials have identified a prisoner as a suspect in the beating death of a fellow inmate at the California Institution for Men in Chino.

Tony Alston, 51, had been in the state prison system since Oct. 23, 2014, after being sentenced to a six-year term for vehicle theft in Yolo County. Alston also had prior theft convictions.

On Feb. 15, he was battered by another inmate. He died in a hospital Wednesday.

Prison officials have named inmate Ronnie Duvall, 56, as a suspect in Alston’s killing.

Duvall is in segregation pending an investigation by the Chino prison authorities and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. The prison houses about 3,400 minimum- and medium-security inmates.

Duvall, of Los Angeles County, has been in the state prison system since 2007. He is serving a 14-year sentence for lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14 years old.

This story was originally published March 11, 2016 at 3:10 PM.