California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating the death of an incarcerated person at Pelican Bay State Prison (PBSP) as a homicide.
On March 9, 2026, at approximately 2 p.m., staff found Gabriel Otero, 33, unresponsive. Staff immediately initiated life-saving measures on Otero and activated 911. The Del Norte County Coroner pronounced Otero deceased at approximately 3 p.m.
Otero’s cellmate has been placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the PBSP Investigative Services Unit and the Del Norte County District Attorney’s Office. The office of the Inspector General has been notified.
Otero, 33, was received from Monterey County on July 16, 2021. He was sentenced to 35 years for second-degree robbery, second striker, with enhancements for a street gang act in commission of a violent felony, use of firearm, and prior felony conviction of serious offense.
PBSP houses minimum, medium, and maximum-security male incarcerated persons. The institution opened in 1989 PBSP and is located on 275 acres on the North Coast of California, 13 miles from the Oregon/California Border, houses more than 1,690 incarcerated people and employs 1,400 staff.
