DELANO – North Kern State Prison (NKSP) officials are investigating the death of an inmate as a homicide.
On Sunday, March 12, 2017, at around 11 a.m., while inmates were returning from the recreational yard, an officer observed inmate David Dooley, 25, strike inmate Rosendo Sosa, 59, in the facial area with his fist. Without fighting back, inmate Sosa fell to the ground and landed on his back. The correctional officer ordered all inmates to get down and activated the alarm.
Medical staff arrived shortly after and took Sosa, who had injured his head, to the NKSP Treatment and Triage Area. He was then transported to an outside hospital for further treatment. Sosa succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 14. He was received into CDCR custody from Fresno County on Feb. 1, 2017, with a sentence of 13 years for elder abuse and causing injury to an elder resulting in death.
Dooley has been placed in NKSP’s Administrative Segregation Unit while the incident is investigated. He was received into CDCR custody from Merced County on Jan. 11, 2017. He was serving a three-year sentence for corporal injury on a spouse.
Investigators from the Kern County District Attorney’s Office are assisting. The Office of the Inspector General was notified.
The mission of North Kern State Prison is to process and classify incoming inmates from county jails by evaluating their medical and mental health needs, determining their security level, program requirements, and appropriate institutional placement prior to their transfer. NKSP has a general population medium-custody facility and a minimum-support facility with a 10-bed Level I firehouse. The general population portion of the institution focuses on providing educational/vocational opportunities to inmates, equipping them with skills that will aid them in finding gainful employment upon their release from prison. The prison was activated in 1992 and currently houses approximately 4,700 inmates and employs approximately 1,410 staff members.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2017
CONTACT: Lt. Jose Martinez
(661) 721-2345 ext. 5006
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