IMPERIAL–Centinela State Prison (CEN) officials are investigating the death of an inmate as a homicide.
At around 11 a.m., July 29, a correctional sergeant discovered inmate Gerald Wayne Rowe, 27, had been stabbed while on the Facility A recreation yard.
Custody sounded an alarm and initiated emergency life-saving measures. Rowe was transported to the prison’s triage treatment area where medical staff continued life saving measures until a doctor pronounced Rowe deceased at 11:44 a.m.
Investigators searched the yard and recovered an inmate-manufactured weapon. They have identified inmate Andrew Jurjaks as a suspect in the homicide.
Jurjaks, 35, was admitted from Orange county on Feb. 28, 2014, to serve a 15-year sentence for attempted second-degree murder. He has been placed in the prison’s administrative segregation unit pending the completion of the investigation.
Rowe was admitted from San Diego county on Oct. 17, 2013, with a six-year sentence for first-degree burglary, possession of a controlled substance in jail or prison, and possession of a controlled substance for sale. He also received a four-year conviction from San Diego county in 2015 for possession of a controlled substance for sale, his second strike, and on Sept. 20, 2017, began serving a seven-year sentence from Riverside County for battery on a non-prisoner by a second striker.
Investigators from the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office and the Imperial County District Attorney’s Office are assisting prison officials with the investigation. The Office of the Inspector General was notified.
Centinela State Prison is a medium- and maximum-security prison in Imperial County that houses 3,373 inmates and employs approximately 1,300 people.
