Inmate at SVSP sentenced to life for killing cellmate

Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni announced on Monday, February 25 that on Friday, February 22, 34-year-old Brandon Keen was sentenced to 141 years-to-life in prison. On January 16, 2019, Keen was found guilty by a jury for murdering his cellmate and assault with a deadly weapon by an inmate at the Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad. Keen was sentenced pursuant to California’s 3 Strikes law as he has previous convictions for arson, assault with a deadly weapon and mayhem. Pursuant to law Keen was sentenced to 3 life sentences for the crimes he was convicted of resulting in 141 years-to-life. As Judge Timothy P. Roberts handed down the sentence Keen yelled out in open court and in front of the victim’s family members, that he had “No regrets” that he “Loves it” and “Wants more of it”. On October 4, 2013, Keen, while serving a 25 year prison sentence at Salinas Valley State Prison for mayhem, was found in his cell unharmed after he alerted correctional officers that his cellmate was “down”. The victim 31-year-old Dimitris Kalatzakis, was found lying face up in a large pool of his own blood and the cell walls were covered in blood spatter. He was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy revealed that Kalatzakis had suffered 6 stab wounds by an inmate manufactured weapon, had been beaten so badly that there was blunt force injury with broken bones throughout his face and that he had ultimately been strangled to death by a ligature. Kalatzakis had an anticipated release date of October 15, 2015. The jury also found that on August 31, 2016, Inmate Keen was fighting with another inmate, 46-year-old Mathew Jennings, in the day yard area of Salinas Valley State Prison when correctional officers deployed O.C. gas to stop the fight. Inmate Jennings fell to the ground and curled into a fetal position with his back to Inmate Keen. Inmate Keen with an inmate manufactured weapon, consisting of a toothbrush with 2 razor blades affixed to the handle, proceeded to get on top of Inmate Jennings and slash his face and neck.