A felon from Riverside County is one of two men accused in a deadly attack on a fellow inmate at Salinas Valley State Prison, authorities said Tuesday.
Dillon King, 28, of Riverside, allegedly joined Justin Learmont, 44, of San Bernardino, in the fatal assault Monday on 43-year-old Michael Loftin of Del Norte County, according to the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation.
According to the agency, shortly before 1 p.m. Monday, King and Learmont corralled Loftin in a recreation yard, and one of the inmates used an unidentified “improvised weapon” to batter the victim repeatedly.
“Staff immediately intervened, quelling the attack,” CDCR said. “King and Learmont were secured in handcuffs.”
Medical personnel attempted life-saving measures on Loftin, but he was pronounced dead less than a half-hour later.
King and Learmont were isolated in a restricted housing unit. The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office was alerted to the alleged attack, and prosecutors were reviewing the case Tuesday, according to CDCR.
A possible motive was not disclosed.
King was convicted in Riverside County Superior Court of second-degree robbery, with a sentence-enhancing weapon allegation, along with assault, receiving stolen property and attempted first-degree burglary. He was sentenced to 12 years behind bars and sent to the Central California prison on June 21, 2021, state officials said.
Learmont is serving a life sentence for attempted second-degree murder with a sentence-enhancing gun use allegation, as well as firearm assault. He has been locked up since March 2010 and will eventually be eligible for parole, according to CDCR.