California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials are investigating the death of an incarcerated person at California State Prison, Sacramento as a homicide.
According to a statement from CDCR, at 2:51 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, staff found inmate Dennis L. Romero, 49, unresponsive in his cell. Staff immediately activated 911 and initiated life-saving measures while transporting him to the prison’s treatment and triage area. Paramedics arrived at the institution and pronounced Romero deceased at 3:27 p.m.
Romero’s cellmate, Jacob D. Forbes, 23, was placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the SAC Investigative Services Unit and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. The Office of the Inspector General has been notified.
Romero was received from Humboldt County on Nov. 22, 1996. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder. On Aug. 17, 2000, Romero was sentenced to four years by Lassen County for possessing or manufacturing a deadly weapon while in prison, a second-strike offense. On May 16, 2016, Romero was sentenced to two years by Sacramento County for aggravated battery on a peace officer by gassing while in prison, a second-strike offense. On May 31, 2022, Romero was sentenced to one year by Sacramento County for aggravated battery on a peace officer by gassing while in prison, a second-strike offense.
Forbes was received from Stanislaus County on April 11, 2024. He was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for second-degree robbery, second-degree burglary, and attempted second-degree robbery, a second-strike offense.
