Salinas Valley State Prison Inamte Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of Fellow Inmate

SALINAS, California- Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni announced on April 24 that

Salinas Valley State Prison inmate 32-year-old Jaime Demicio Romero was sentenced to serve a term of 45

years to life in prison, after being convicted of Second-Degree Murder. Romero was also convicted of

personally using a deadly or dangerous weapon to commit the crime. Judge Stephanie Hulsey presided

over this trial.

Judge Hulsey found that Romero he had previously been convicted of three “strikes” under California’s

Three Strikes Law.

On the morning of January 12, 2018, correctional officers observed blood smeared on the window and

leaking out beneath the door of the cell of the victim in this case, 19-year-old Jose Alcantar-Ortega.

When correctional officers reached the cell, they observed Alcantar-Ortega lying motionless on the floor

in a pool of blood, and inmates Cortez and Romero standing in the back of his locked cell. Two inmate-

manufactured weapons were discovered flushed down the cell’s toilet. While Alcantar-Ortega had over

70 stab wounds to his body, most of them to his back, head and neck area, inmates Cortez and Romero

did not have any injuries and their hands and clothes were covered in the victim’s blood.

Alcantar-Ortega was still alive when correctional officers removed him from his cell and life-saving

measures were taken by prison medical staff, paramedics and medical staff at Natividad Medical Center.

However, three days later, Alcantar-Ortega succumbed to his injuries.

This case was investigated by the Investigative Services Unit of Salinas Valley State Prison as well as

Monterey County District Attorney Investigator Erik Morris and retired District Attorney Investigator

Jackie Meroney.

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