FOLSOM – California State, Prison, Sacramento (SAC) officials are investigating the
death of incarcerated person Edward C. Bergman as a homicide.
At 11:39 p.m. on Sunday, April 30, 2023, SAC staff found Bergman unresponsive in his
cell. Staff quickly initiated life-saving measures and summoned emergency services to
transport him to an on-site medial facility for treatment. He was pronounced deceased
on Monday, May 1, 2023, at 12:08 a.m.
Taylor Cervantes, an incarcerated person, has been identified as the alleged suspect.
He has been rehoused in the prison’s restricted housing unit while the investigation is
conducted. An inmate-manufactured weapon was recovered at the scene. The SAC
Investigative Services Unit is facilitating the investigation. The Office of the Inspector
General has been notified and the Sacramento County Coroner will determine
Bergman’s official cause of death. Next-of-kin notifications have been made.
Bergman, 53, was last sentenced in San Diego County on May 13, 1997 to life without
the possibility of parole for first-degree murder. He had several prior convictions. On
Aug. 2, 1991 he was sentenced in San Diego County to a two-year sentence for
second-degree burglary and receiving stolen property. He paroled on June 29, 1992.
On July 14, 1992 he was sentenced to a new offense in Los Angeles County for cause
fire of forest land, and sentenced to one year, four months. He paroled on Feb. 2, 1993.
He was sentenced to a new offense in San Diego County to a two year sentence for
second-degree burglary. He paroled on Nov. 3, 1994.
Cervantes, 27, was sentenced in Los Angeles County on Oct. 27, 2021 to serve life with
the possibility of parole for second-degree murder.
Activated in 1986, CSP-SAC is a high-security prison in Folsom that houses 1,940
incarcerated people and employs about 1,700 staff. The institution houses those serving
long-term sentences, those requiring specialized mental health programming, and
incarcerated people with high-risk medical concerns. The institution also provides work,
career technical education, academic, self-help, art, religious and other rehabilitative
programs.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2023
Contact: OPEC Press Office
OPEC@cdcr.ca.gov
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