Inmate convicted in LA County is fatally assaulted in prison

SACRAMENTO — An inmate has been killed in an assault at a California state prison south of San Francisco, officials said Wednesday.

Edgar Delgado, 39, died Tuesday evening after he was attacked by another inmate armed with a homemade weapon in a maximum security exercise yard at Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, prison officials said.

Correctional officers used chemical agents to stop the assault.

Authorities said they’re treating Delgado’s death as a homicide and didn’t release the other inmate’s name, citing an ongoing investigation by prison officials and the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.

Delgado was serving a sentence of life with the possibility of parole since 2008.

He was convicted in Los Angeles County of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer or firefighter with a firearm, shooting a firearm with gross negligence and possession of a firearm by an ex-felon.