California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating the Nov. 26, 2024, death of an incarcerated person at High Desert State Prison (HDSP) as a homicide.
At approximately 6:13 p.m., HDSP staff observed Incarcerated Person Zachary Barron (BK9931) attacking Incarcerated Person Juan Linares (AB2117). Barron used an improvised weapon, to stab Linares multiple times. Officers responded and quelled the attack.
Linares was immediately transported to the institution’s Correctional Treatment Center (CTC) for advanced medical care. However, his condition worsened, requiring life-saving measures, including CPR and wound care, by Correctional Officers and medical staff. Despite their efforts, Linares was pronounced deceased at 7:09 p.m. by a physician of Banner Lassen Medical Center.
Linares, 44, was received by CDCR from Alameda County on Oct. 20, 2009, to serve 36 years to life for second-degree murder.
Barron, 32, was received by CDCR from San Bernardino County on Dec. 5, 2019, to serve 14 years to life for first-degree murder. He has been placed in restricted housing while the incident is under investigation.
The HDSP Investigative Services Unit and the Lassen County District Attorney’s Office are conducting investigations into this incident. The Office of the Inspector General has been notified, and the Lassen County Coroner will determine Linares’s official cause of death.
High Desert State Prison, which opened in 1995, houses approximately 3,300 incarcerated people at various custody levels. The facility provides educational, vocational, medical, and mental health services.
