Corrections officials investigate homicide of man incarcerated at California State Prison Los Angeles County

Officials from the Department of Corrections are investigating the death of a man who was incarcerated at California State Prison, Los Angeles County in Lancaster as a homicide.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said around 12:18 p.m. Thursday Joshua Kerr was found unresponsive in his cell with multiple wounds by officers.

The staff quickly started performing life-saving measures and called for additional medical assistance. He was later pronounced dead by an institution doctor, the CDCR said.

The incident is also being investigated by the LAC Investigative Services Unit and the LA County District Attorney's Office.

The LA County Coroner will be determining Kerr's official cause of death.

"Kerr, 41, was most recently received from Orange County on Dec 18, 2015, and sentenced to 18 years for second-degree attempted murder, street gang act in commission of violent felony, and second-degree robbery," the CDCR wrote in a statement.

According to the Department of Corrections, while incarcerated in 2017, Kerr was sentenced to more than one year for assault by prisoner with any means of force likely to cause bodily harm. In 2021, while incarcerated, he was sentenced for 11 years for assault by a prisoner with a deadly weapon or force likely to cause great bodily harm.

The prison in Lancaster houses more than 3,100 minimum- and maximum-security inmates. It also serves as a medical hub for outpatient levels of health care and also provides academic classes and vocational programs.