Kern Valley State Prison Officials Probe Inmate’s Death as Homicide, Oakland Resident Identified as Victim

California prison officials are currently investigating a death at Kern Valley State Prison, which has been classified as a homicide. Last Saturday afternoon, staff at the prison discovered 41-year-old Darius J. Swain unresponsive in his cell after they had observed another inmate, Gregory Clark, 58, sporting bloodstained clothing. The incident was reported at 3:19 p.m., and despite quick intervention and lifesaving attempts by the medical team, Swain was pronounced dead at 3:48 p.m., according to the

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

.

Swain, an Oakland resident, had been in custody since March 2019, serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole. His crimes, which Alameda County prosecuted, included human trafficking of a minor with force or fraud, in addition to pimping, pandering, robbery, and firearm possession. Removed without incident, Clark has been placed in a restricted housing unit during the ongoing investigation into this incident.

Investigators from the KVSP’s Investigative Services Unit are looking into the circumstances that led to Swain’s death, while Clark’s exact role is still to be determined. The Office of the Inspector General was also notified of the incident. The Kern County Coroner is set to carry out an autopsy to ascertain the official cause of death.

Clark, who was originally sent to prison in 2011, hailing from Los Angeles County, carried a sentence of 22 years for corporal injury and was no stranger to prison violence. He received an additional two years for assaulting another prisoner with a deadly weapon, as per his 2021 conviction by a Kern County court.

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