California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Press Release Re: Arrest of Jovanny Mendez
Kern Valley State Prison Officials Investigating Death of Incarcerated Person as a Homicide
July 12, 2026
DELANO – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials are investigating the death of an incarcerated person at Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) as a homicide.
On July 11, 2026, at approximately 10:20 a.m., custody staff members saw two incarcerated people fighting in their cell. Staff sounded an alarm and ordered Jovanny Mendez and Sergio Villalobos to get down. Mendez failed to comply and staff used pepper spray to quell the attack.
Officers activated 911 and staff continued life-saving measures on Villalobos as they transferred him to the prison’s triage and treatment area. Subsequently, paramedics arrived and pronounced Villalobos deceased at 10:55 a.m.
Mendez was restrained, removed from the cell and remains in restricted housing pending an investigation by the KVSP Investigative Services Unit and the Kern County District Attorney’s Office. Two incarcerated persons’ manufactured weapons were found at the scene. The Office of the Inspector General has been notified.
Villalobos, 41, was most recently received from Los Angeles County on Aug. 18, 2014. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder.
Mendez, 39, was most recently received from Orange County on May 24, 2017. He was sentenced to 14 years for assault with a firearm and a use of a firearm enhancement.
KVSP opened in 2005 and houses over 3,200 minimum and high-security custody inmates. KVSP offers academic classes and vocational programs and employs approximately 1,600 people.
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