California correctional officials have launched a homicide investigation after an inmate from Alameda County serving a life sentence died in a Central Valley prison over the weekend.
According to the state’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation , 41-year-old Darius J. Swain died at the Kern Valley State Prison near the community of Delano on Saturday. Swain was received into the state prison system in 2019 after being convicted of human trafficking of a minor, a second-strike offense, along with pimping, pandering and second-degree robbery.
Shortly before 3:20 p.m., officials said prison staff found his cellmate with blood on his clothing. After removing the cellmate without incident, prison staff found Swain unresponsive in the cell.
Medical staff performed life-saving measures on Swain and transported him to the prison’s treatment and triage area. Paramedics arrived at the prison and pronounced Swain deceased at 3:48 p.m.
Swain’s cellmate, identified as 58-year-old Gregory Clark of Los Angeles County, has been placed into restricted housing pending an investigation.