High Desert State Prison officials are investigating the death of an inmate as a homicide

SUSANVILLE – High Desert State Prison (HDSP) officials are investigating the death of Anthony R. Alvarez Jr. as a homicide after he was attacked by two other inmates on August 21, 2024.

At approximately 5:45 p.m., officers responded when inmates Luis Alvarez and Vincent G. Martinez attacked Anthony Alvarez in a holding room. Staff quickly ended the incident.

Staff immediately initiated life-saving measures on Anthony Alvarez, 29. He was taken to the prison's triage and treatment area for injuries sustained in the attack and HDSP staff called emergency services. He was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m. Officers recovered two inmate-made weapons.

Officers have restricted movement in the yard where the attack occurred. Luis Alvarez and Martinez have been placed in a locked shelter pending the completion of the investigation by the HDSP Investigative Services Unit and the Lassen County District Attorney's Office. The Office of the Inspector General has been notified and the Lassen County Coroner will determine Anthony Alvarez's official cause of death.

Anthony Alvarez was last admitted from Fresno County on July 30, 2021 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted premeditated murder as a second offender.

Luis Alvarez, 30, was admitted from Santa Clara County on May 1, 2019 and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder.

Vincent G. Martinez, 41, was brought in from Kings County on September 19, 2014, and sentenced to 22 years and four months in prison for attempted premeditated murder, possession of a controlled substance for sale, and criminal threatening to cause great bodily harm or death, with Street Gang Act enhancements for committing a serious felony.

Opened in 1995, HDSP is a maximum security prison in Susanville that houses approximately 2,700 Level I through Level IV inmates and employs approximately 1,700 staff members. The facility houses people serving long sentences, people requiring specialized mental health programs, and inmates with high-risk health issues. The facility also offers work, vocational training, academic, self-help, arts, religious, and other rehabilitation programs.

Anthony R. Alvarez Jr. (deceased)