Two arrested on suspicion of murdering inmate at Santa Cruz County Jail

Two people have been arrested in connection to the murder of 24-year-old German Carrillo at the Santa Cruz County Jail.

The Sheriff’s Office arrested 33-year-old Mario Lozano of Santa Cruz and 25-year-old Jason Cortez of Watsonville.

On Oct. 14, Carrillo was found dead in his cell. He had been in custody at the jail on murder charges since April 2013. Investigators said Carrillo was strangled sometime early in the morning on Oct. 13. The Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Carrillo was dead for a full day before his body was found and is investigating how that happened.

Lozano, Cortez and Carrillo shared a cell. They were in a housing unit for active gang members.

Lozano had been at the jail since August 2018 and charged with murder. Cortez had been there since January 2019 on weapons charges.