An inmate already serving life without parole at Kern Valley State Prison faces an additional 25 years to life after pleading no contest to killing his cellmate, Ryan Galindo, back in 2019. Erik Morales pleaded no contest to the second-degree murder charge and admitted two prior strikes and two prior serious felony convictions.
Morales was received by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in June 2005 to serve life without parole for a first-degree murder conviction, according to kget.com. He was already behind bars for that killing when prison officials say he attacked his cellmate at the Delano prison years later.
Galindo suffered severe head trauma in the attack and was taken to a prison triage area before being transported to an outside hospital, the outlet reports. He was later transferred to a long-term care facility, where he died in June 2019, months after Morales attacked him in their cell.
A Correctional Officer Stepped In
According to bakersfield.com, an officer responded to the cell and ordered Morales to stop. He listened to commands and stopped the attack on Galindo without the use of force. A separate account from the time, filed by turnto23.com, said a correctional officer at Kern Valley State Prison witnessed Morales repeatedly kicking Galindo in the head and face on March 18, 2019 — though later reporting on the plea and sentencing described the attack only as happening months before Galindo's death, without repeating that specific date.
Records on the two men's ages conflict across reporting. The most recent account from kget.com identified Morales as 48, while an earlier report from turnto23.com had listed him as 40 at the time he pleaded not guilty. Galindo, too, was reported as 40 years old in both accounts.
Galindo's Own Record Behind Bars
Galindo had been convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The timeline of when he entered state custody is also disputed between outlets: kget.com reported CDCR received him in May 2014 to serve a six-year sentence, while turnto23.com reported he was received from Fresno County on May 14, 2015, for that same six-year sentence.
Morales's case is not an isolated one at the Delano facility. Earlier this year, on July 17, a Kern County jury found Robert Hernandez guilty of second-degree murder in the September 2021 killing of his cellmate, Jose Aviles, at Kern Valley State Prison, according to kmph.com. In that case, officers found Aviles's body concealed in his bed beneath a sheet, and an autopsy determined he died from blunt force trauma and strangulation. Hernandez, who had a prior strike conviction for a 2018 attempted murder in Los Angeles County, faced an additional 35 years to life at sentencing scheduled for August 14.
What the Law Allows
Under California Penal Code section 190, second-degree murder is generally punishable by 15 years to life in state prison, barring specified statutory exceptions, according to the California Legislative Information website. Morales admitted prior strikes and prior serious felony convictions and faced 25 years to life for Galindo's death, on top of the life-without-parole term he is already serving for his earlier murder conviction.
