LA gang leader fatally stabbed in prison
Ezequiel Romo
IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. - A gang leader from Panorama City was fatally stabbed in prison, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials said Monday.
On Sunday, July 21, at approximately 8:05 p.m., officers at Centinela State Prison witnessed three inmates attacking Ezequiel Romo in a dayroom. Officers quickly jumped in, issuing verbal orders to stop, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) said in a statement. Officers had to use four applications of pepper spray to stop the inmates from attacking Romo.
Officials say Romo sustained multiple stab wounds and was taken to an on-site medical facility where he was later pronounced dead.
Two inmate-manufactured weapons were recovered at the scene, CDCR said.
The three suspects were moved to restricted housing.
Romo, 47, was received from Los Angeles County on Aug. 30, 2023. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and attempted conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, all third-strike offenses. Prosecutors said he ordered killings on behalf of his Panorama City gang.
The three suspects, Cristian Moreno, Johnny S. Garcia and Christian O. Hernandez were all also sent to prison from Los Angeles County.
Moreno, 31, was sentenced to 20 years, four months for escaping from county jail/prison with force, criminal threat to cause great bodily injury/death, and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, all second-strike offenses.
Garcia, 39, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for attempted second-degree murder, first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and first-degree robbery in concert/inhabited dwelling and kidnap/ransom/extortion with enhancements for use of a firearm. On Aug. 30, 2018, he was sentenced to eight years for an in-prison offense of assault with a deadly weapon, a second-strike offense.
Hernandez, 41, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder. On Nov. 30, 2021, he was sentenced to two years for bringing a controlled substance/alcohol on the grounds of a penal institution, an in-prison offense.