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Salinas Valley State Prison is Looking Into Death of Inmate October 15 as Homicide

 

According to the CDCR an inmate housed at the Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad was stabbed and killed on Sunday, October 15. Three people are accused of attacking 40-year-old inmate Cory J. Benton at 3:19 pm. Benton died from his injuries over an hour later at 4:25 pm. All 3 inmates used a manufactured weapon on Benton who was sentenced from Santa Barbara County in 2012. The inmates suspected in the attacked have been identified as 54-year-old Alberto T. Valades, 33-year-old Jose L. Valle and 32-year-old Jimmy M. Martinez. They were all moved to restricted housing pending an investigation into this case. The Office of the Inspector General was notified, and the Monterrey County Coroner will determine Benton’s official cause of death. The Salinas Valley State Prison opened in May of 1996 in Monterey County. The institution provides long-term housing for 2,687 minimum- and maximum-custody incarcerated people and employs approximately 1,500 people.

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