Inmate Death At Kern Valley State Prison Being Investigated As Homicide

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- The California corrections department says an inmate's death is being investigated as a homicide.

Guards at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano found 39-year-old Jason Christner unresponsive in his cell Thursday night. They were unable to revive him.

It's the fifth suspected homicide since November at the prison north of Bakersfield. Officials don't believe they're related.

Corrections officials say Christner's cellmate, 31-year-old Joseph Dorsey, is a suspect in his death and will remain in a segregated unit during the investigation. Dorsey is serving a sentence of 56 years to life for murder.

Christner was sentenced in 2011 to two years in prison for burglary. His sentence was extended following several in-custody convictions, including possession of a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon and battery on a non-prisoner.