Authorities are investigating the death of a 38-year-old condemned inmate transferred to Salinas Valley State Prison from Los Angeles County after an attack by another inmate Monday morning, officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced.
The violence, according to a CDCR news release, broke out just after 10:30 a.m. when an inmate identified as 31-year-old Miguel A. Espino reportedly attacked inmate Michael R. Spengler.
“Staff quickly stopped the incident and immediately called for medical assistance and 911,” the release noted. “Responding paramedics pronounced Spengler deceased at 11:08 a.m.”
At least one inmate-manufactured weapon was recovered by officers at the scene, officials added.
Spengler had been transferred from L.A. County to SVSP in Aug. 2022 to serve a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for first- and second-degree murder.
Espino was only recently transferred from Riverside County in Feb. 2024 to serve life with the possibility of parole for attempted first-degree murder, inflicting great bodily injury and the personal use of a dangerous or deadly weapon, aggravated mayhem, arson of an inhabited structure, as well as felony arson violation with special circumstances.
The 31-year-old has been placed in restrictive housing pending the outcome of an investigation into the attack by SVSP Investigative Services Unit and the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.
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The Office of the Inspector General was also notified, and the Monterey County Coroner will determine Spengler’s exact cause of death.
No other staff or inmates were injured during the incident.
SVSP, which opened in 1999, houses more than 3,300 minimum, medium, maximum and high-security prisoners.
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