Prisoner found dead in cell in Delano was strangled, authorities say
Kern Valley State Prison in Delano
A 27-year-old inmate found dead in his cell at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano this week was strangled, coroner’s officials said Friday.
Johnny R. Montenegro was found unresponsive Wednesday, and his cellmate, a convicted murderer, was quickly identified as a suspect, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The cellmate had been in state custody since 2005 and was serving life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, state corrections officials said. He has been placed in a segregated unit while state and local officials investigate.
Montenegro, who had been at the prison since May 2015, was serving a three-year sentence for possession of a firearm by a felon.
Three other inmates have died in suspected homicides at Kern Valley State Prison since November. In each case, state officials named a cellmate as the suspect.
The Associated Press first reported Montenegro’s cause of death.
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