California State Prison, Los Angeles County Officials Investigating Death of Incarcerated Person as a Homicide
LANCASTER – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials are investigating the Aug. 22, 2026, death of an incarcerated person at California State Prison, Los Angeles County (CSP-LAC) as a homicide.
On Aug. 22, 2026, at approximately 1:45 a.m., staff observed incarcerated person Francisco A. Perez unresponsive during a security check in his cell.
Staff immediately responded, initiating life-saving measures on Perez and activating 911. Outside medical ambulance staff pronounced Perez deceased at 2:17 a.m.
Perez’s cellmate, Juan R. Saucedo, was placed in handcuffs and removed from the cell. Saucedo has been retained in restricted housing, pending an investigation by the CSP-LAC Investigative Services Unit and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The Office of the Inspector General has been notified.
Perez, 32, was most recently received from San Diego County on Feb. 4, 2016. He was sentenced to 14 years for assault with a deadly weapon as a second striker, with enhancements for a prior felony conviction of a serious offense and for inflicting great bodily injury. He was also sentenced by San Diego County on Jan. 4, 2016, to one year, four months, for battery on emergency personnel as a second striker, and sentenced by Kern County on March 6, 2020, to one year, four months for resisting or deterring an officer with threat or violence, an in-prison offense.
Saucedo, 45, was most recently received from Los Angeles County on Feb. 20, 2020. He was sentenced to life without parole for first-degree murder with enhancements for intentional discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death. He was also sentenced by San Luis Obispo County on Oct. 11, 2023, to four years for possession of a controlled substance, an in-prison offense.
CSP-LAC opened in February 1993 in Los Angeles County. The institution houses approximately 3,000 minimum- and maximum-custody incarcerated individuals and employs approximately 1,500 staff