Salinas Valley State Prison Inmate Convicted of Murder

The Monterey County District Attorney's Office announced the conviction of Salinas Valley State Prison Inmate Jaime Demicio Romero for the 2nd degree murder of another inmate on Thursday.

On January 12th, 2018, 19 year old Jose Alcantar Ortega was found dead in his cell where Romero and another inmate, Alberto Cortez, were found with the victim's blood on their hands. Blood coming from under the cell's door is what alerted guards to the attack.

Ortega had been stabbed more than 70 times, according to the D.A's office, and he died 3 days after the attack. 2 inmate created weapons were also found flushed down the cell's toilet.

Romero has been sentenced to 45 years to life for 2nd degree murder, also being convicted of personally using a deadly or dangerous weapon to commit the crime, while Cortez had already been sentenced to life in prison in October, 2024.