Death Of Central Valley Inmate Being Investigated As Homicide

DELANO, Calif. (AP) - California corrections officials say they are investigating the death of an inmate at a Central Valley prison as a homicide.

They said Wednesday that 29-year-old North Kern State Prison inmate Rosendo Sosa died Tuesday at an outside hospital.

Officials say he was punched in the face by 25-year-old David Dooley while inmates were returning to their cells from an exercise yard Sunday.

Sosa fell, hitting his head.

He was sent to prison last month to serve a 13-year Fresno County sentence for elder abuse and causing injury to an elder resulting in death.

Dooley was sent to prison in January. He is serving a three-year sentence from Merced County for corporal injury on a spouse.

The prison holds nearly 4,700 medium-security inmates 30 miles north of Bakersfield.