Expand / Collapse search
☰

Convicted murderer under investigation after cellmate found dead at LA County prison

By
FOX 11
Crime and Public Safety
Published August 25, 2026 1:31 PM PDT
Published August 25, 2026 1:31 PM PDT
article

The Brief

    • California prison officials are investigating the Aug. 22 death of 32-year-old inmate Francisco A. Perez at California State Prison, Los Angeles County in Lancaster as a homicide.
    • Perez was discovered unresponsive in his cell during an early morning security check and was pronounced dead at 2:17 a.m.
    • His cellmate, 45-year-old Juan R. Saucedo—who is serving life without parole for first-degree murder—was placed in handcuffs and moved to restricted housing pending investigation.

LANCASTER, Calif. - California Department of Correction Rehabilitation investigators are looking into the death of an inmate at a Lancaster facility. His death is being investigated as a homicide.

What we know:

Authorities said around 1:45 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22, staff members discovered 32-year-old Francisco A. Perez unresponsive in his cell during a security check. Staff administered life-saving efforts. However, he was pronounced dead by paramedics at 2:17 a.m. 

Authorities said his cellmate, 45-year-old Juan R. Saucedo, was removed from the cell and placed in handcuffs. He remains in restricted housing while the investigation continues. 

More about the inmates

Dig deeper:

Perez had been placed in the Lancaster facility for over a decade after he was received from San Diego County on Feb. 4, 2016. He was serving time on a 14-year sentence for an assault with a deadly weapon as a second strike, with enhancements for a prior felony conviction of a serious offense and for inflicting great bodily injury. Earlier in 2016, he was also sentenced to a year and four months for battery on emergency personnel, and in March 2020 picked up an additional year and four months for resisting or deterring an officer with threat or violence, officials said. 

Francisco A. Perez (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

Saucedo was sentenced to life without parole for first-degree murder with enhancements for intentional discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death. In addition, he was also sentenced in San Luis Obispo County in Oct. 2023 to four years for possession of a controlled substance, which is an in-prison offense.

Juan R. Saucedo (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

Local perspective:

California State Prison, Los Angeles County opened in 1993 and houses an estimated 3,000 minimum and maximum-custody inmates.

SUGGESTED: 

The Source: This article is based on an official press release issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).

Crime and Public SafetyLancasterLos Angeles CountyInstastories