FOLSOM – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials are investigating the death of an incarcerated person at California State Prison, Sacramento (SAC) as a homicide.
On Oct. 26, at 6:43 p.m., correctional staff observed incarcerated persons Justin Castro and Luis Mendoza attack incarcerated person Carlos Montenegro on the upper tier of a housing unit.
Staff immediately responded, first issuing verbal orders to “get down,” which were ignored. Officers then used five less lethal 40mm direct impact rounds to quell the attack. Staff alerted 911 and initiated life-saving measures on Montenegro while transporting him to the prison’s treatment and triage area. Paramedics arrived at the institution and pronounced Montenegro deceased at 7:24 p.m. Two improvised weapons were found at the scene.
Castro and Mendoza were placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the SAC Investigative Services Unit and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. The Office of the Inspector General has been notified.
Montenegro, 39, was received from Los Angeles County on Sept. 3, 2024. He was sentenced to six years for assault with a deadly weapon, a second-strike offense.
Castro, 47, was received from Los Angeles County on May 8, 2024. He was sentenced as a third striker to life in prison with the possibility of parole for attempted second-degree murder, first-degree burglary, second-degree robbery, kidnapping and carjacking. He received an enhancement for use of a firearm.
Mendoza, 33, was received from Orange County on March 15, 2017. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for attempted second-degree murder, second-degree robbery, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and criminal gang activity. He received enhancements to his sentence for use of a firearm and street gang acts in commission of a serious felony.
SAC opened in 1986 and houses more than 2,200 medium-, maximum- and high-security incarcerated persons. SAC offers academic classes and vocational programs and employs approximately 1,500 people.
Carlos Montenegro (deceased)
Justin Castro
Luis Mendoza
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: OPEC Press Office OPEC@cdcr.ca.gov