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San Quentin death row inmate found dead in his cell may have taken own life

PIX Now Afternoon Edition 4-29-2024
PIX Now Afternoon Edition 4-29-2024 07:27

A man who was condemned to death row at San Quentin State Prison in 1998 was found dead in his cell Monday and authorities are investigating it as a suicide, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. 

San Quentin inmate Daniel Jenkins
San Quentin inmate Daniel Jenkins California Department of Corrections

Daniel Jenkins, 68, was discovered unresponsive in his cell and pronounced deceased by Marin County Fire Medical Emergency Services at 6:59 a.m., according to the state. 

The cause of death is pending the results of an autopsy; however, the death is being investigated as a suicide. 

Jenkins was sent to death row on Oct. 6, 1998 in Los Angeles County for first-degree murder armed with a firearm, conspiracy to commit a crime, and first-degree attempted murder, according to the CDCR.

Jenkins was convicted of killing an off-duty Los Angeles Police Department Detective in 1985 as he picked up his six-year-old son from daycare. The officer had just testified in a case against Jenkins.

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