Grisly Solano prison slaying — Oakland man cut up, stuffed in trash

Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the prison was investigating the killing as well as a riot that occurred among five dozen inmates several hours before.

The body of 24-year old Nicholas Anthony Rodriguez was discovered the evening of May 4, stuffed into a trash can in a shower stall near his cell in California State Prison, Solano. How could someone obtain weapons sharp enough to dissect a body?

Thornton said that Rodriguez’s missing organs were “still part of the investigation”. Perez was admitted from Los Angeles County on August 2009 with a 26-year-to-life sentence for first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon, Thornton said. It took more than 14 hours for prison guards to regain control of the prison, and it was after full control was established that Rodriguez’s body was found. Prison authorities had initially thought Rodriguez escaped from the prison during the fracas. He had been serving an 8-year sentence for robbery in Alameda County.

Thornton confirmed details of the death included in a Solano County coroner’s office autopsy report cited in the news article.

Officials are also trying to figure out if the riot was staged to cover up the murder and/or to enable the victim’s body to be removed from the jail cell. Thornton said the two events were “linked”, but said she could provide no further details. “Unfortunately, we know that there are drugs, there’s alcohol, there are weapons”, said Christine Ward, executive director of the Crime Victims Action Alliance. More than 160 inmates have been killed in the last 15 years, and the state has one of the nation’s highest inmate homicide rates.

According to the head of the prison guards union, the state of California is incarcerating more violent criminals in medium-security or less-secure facilities that are inadequately staffed with officers.

“This kind of thing at Solano, sad to say, I predict it’s just a precursor”, he added. “They are going to find ways to do that”.