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Inmate Death At NorCal Prison Investigated As Homicide

TRACY (CBS SF) -- An inmate from Contra Costa County is accused of a beating in June at a state prison in San Joaquin County that turned fatal last week when the victim succumbed to his injuries, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Helder Almeida, 36, is suspected of attacking 61-year-old William Pratt on the morning of June 8 at the Deuel Vocational Institution, a facility near Tracy that houses nearly 1,500 inmates.

Almeida allegedly hit Pratt repeatedly in the head and face with his fists before correctional officers intervened. Pratt was taken to a hospital and succumbed to his injuries on Friday evening, CDCR officials said.

Almeida had come in February from Contra Costa County to serve two years and eight months in prison for possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, possession of metal knuckles, possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of an assault weapon, according to the CDCR.

Pratt had come to the prison in 2017 to serve a nine-year sentence from Los Angeles County for assault with a deadly weapon.

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