California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating the death of an incarcerated person at Substance Abuse Treatment Facility (SATF) as a homicide. On March 20, 2026, at approximately 8 a.m., staff found Earl D. Williams, 72, unresponsive in his cell.
Staff immediately initiated life-saving measures on Williams and activated 911. Williams was transported to an outside medical facility for treatment. Hospital staff pronounced Williams deceased at 7:05 a.m. on March 23. Ignacio Guzman, 28, was placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the SATF Investigative Services Unit and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.
The Office of the Inspector General has been notified. Williams was most recently received from Los Angeles County on Jan. 11, 2016. He was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. Guzman was most recently received from Kings County on Jan. 17, 2024. He was sentenced to five years, four months for battery on a non-incarcerated person and battery on a peace officer as a second striker. SATF houses minimum, medium, high, and maximum-security male incarcerated persons. The institution opened in 1997, housing approximately 5,300 incarcerated people and employing approximately 2,000 staff. Earl D. Williams (Deceased) Ignacio Guzman
