Elderly Inmate Beaten To Death At Vacaville Prison Medical Facility; Cellmate Accused

VACAVILLE (CBS SF) -- An elderly inmate serving a life sentence for second-degree murder was apparently beaten to death inside his cell at California Medical Facility prison in Vacaville and his cellmate was accused of the homicide.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) said 75-year-old Tuc X. Tran was found unresponsive in his cell with multiple injuries to his head and face on April 30 by a corrections officer conducting an inmate count.

The officer immediately called for medical response and additional staff, suspecting Tran was attacked by his cellmate, 39-year-old James A. Norton, CDCR said.

Norton was restrained and removed from the cell and staffers began life-saving measures on Tran. He was tranferred to the prison's triage and treatment ara but succumbed to his injuries, CDCR said.

Tran was was received from Riverside County in 2015 after being sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder, while Norton was received from Mendocino County last November after being sentenced to two years causing a fire in forest land, CDCR said.

Norton was placed in Administrative Segregation housing and the CDCR Investigative Services Unit was dispatched to the prison to preserve evidence at the crime scene.