DELANO – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating the death of an incarcerated person at North Kern State Prison (NKSP) as a homicide.
At 12:36 p.m. on Sept. 28, two incarcerated people, Andrew Jimenez, and Anthony Rivera, allegedly attacked another incarcerated person, Josafat Bonifacio with an inmate-manufactured weapon.
Bonifacio sustained multiple stab wounds and life-saving measures were performed. While enroute to an outside medical facility he was pronounced deceased at 1:37 p.m. No staff or additional incarcerated people were injured.
Both suspects have been moved to restricted housing pending investigation into this case. Officials have limited population movement on the yard to facilitate the investigation being conducted by NKSP’s Investigative Services Unit, the Kern County District Attorney’s Office and the Kern County Coroner. The Office of the Inspector General was notified, and the Kern County Coroner will determine Bonifacio’s official cause of death.
Bonifacio, 32, was received from Los Angeles County on May 30, 2023, to serve life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder.
Jimenez, 30, was received from Los Angeles County on Oct. 18, 2021, to serve life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder and great bodily injury.
Rivera, 28, was received from Kern County on Feb. 3, 2012, to serve life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder and possession / own firearm by felon or addict.
NKSP opened in April 1993, and is a medium security prison as well as a Reception Center (RC) housing approximately 3,500 incarcerated people. The general population portion of the institution focuses on providing educational/vocational opportunities.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 29, 2023
Contact: CDCR Press OfficeOPEC@cdcr.ca.gov
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