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A Riverside County inmate who was sentenced to death was allegedly killed in a state prison by another inmate, leading to a massive mob attack on Friday morning, officials said.
It happened at the Kern Valley State Jail around 10:30am, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
At the time, murder investigators allegedly began attacking inmates who were 36-year-old inmates from Riverside County, identified as Julian Mendes, 46.
Details of this initial argument are limited. Authorities did not identify any Renteria’s actions other than that he was “impressive” Mendes, nor did they say whether Mendes fought back.
The CDCR said staff ordered the man to “get off” but the inmates did not comply.
“The chemicals initially halted the attack, but more than 30 additional incarcerated people began to run through the Renteria and attack him,” the CDCR release said. “The order to stop was ignored and staff used multiple explosive rena bullets to quell the violence.”
When the mob was cleared, authorities discovered Mendes with what was only described as “multiple wounds” and attempted life-saving measures. Improvised weapons were also found at the scene.
Mendes was then taken to the prison triage and treatment area, where doctors assert that he had died at 11:05am.
Julian Mendes (left) can be seen in a mugshot dated May 14, 2024, while Mario Rentalia (right) can be seen in a mugshot dated April 14, 2025.
Officials said Mendes was received from Riverside County on December 2, 2004 after being sentenced to death for the first-degree murder of two teenagers in 2002.
According to the Death Penalty Judgment Today, a website curated by a professor at Drake University Law School, Mendes committed a crime on February 4, 2000 at the age of 22.
The site says Mendes was a gang member when he beat the 15-year-old boy and ordered another gang member to shoot a 14-year-old girl as she was a witness after shooting him twice, including one in the head.
“Other gang members refused to shoot [the girl]Mendes finally shot her,” the site summary said. “In mitigation, defense claimed that Mendes spent most of his life in gangs and his father spent half of his life in prison due to drug use.”
After Mendes’ death, the CDCR said Renteria remains in the restricted housing as it is pending an investigation into the case, saying “authors are limited in population movement to promote the investigation being carried out.”
The release pointed out that Renteria was received from Riverside County on April 27, 2022.
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